# British backpacker found: who's a lucky boy then?



## Timmy (15 July 2009)

Backpacker Jamie Neale has been found alive in the NSW Blue Mountains after being missing for 12 days.

Well done him on surviving that long, cold at night in the Blue Mountains this time of year.

And this from his dad (different article):

Mr Cass praised the search parties who'd spent days in rugged terrain looking for his boy.

"My heart goes out to them, and to Australia, for making it possible for him to come back from the dead, literally, as far as I'm concerned," he said.

Can't wait for the movie.


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## jono1887 (16 July 2009)

*Re: Who's a lucky boy then?*



Timmy said:


> Can't wait for the movie.




And the book and official story


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## ThingyMajiggy (16 July 2009)

*Re: Who's a lucky boy then?*



jono1887 said:


> And the book and official story




Don't forget the 1 hour special on channel 9


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## Tink (16 July 2009)

*Re: Who's a lucky boy then?*

Yeah good news : )

I couldnt get over the mothers reaction though
Yep he rang me - no emotion

Geez dont look so happy mum..


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## overit (16 July 2009)

*Re: Who's a lucky boy then?*

Is the world really this desperate for a hero. Surely for $100k+ the media could dig up some quality stories on something worth while which would inspire and enthrall the masses. We seem to be getting rewarded for our stupidity more and more. 

Recipe for success. 1. Go to foreign country. 2. Do something really dumb and get into trouble. 3. Sell story for lots of money!

This guy just spent 300 days on an isolated island fending for himself with little more than a knife (although pre-planned). Makes old mates 12days seem like a tea party. 



> Backpacker survivor Jamie Neale signs media deal
> 
> July 16, 2009 09:40pm
> 
> ...


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## jono1887 (16 July 2009)

*Re: Who's a lucky boy then?*

Didn't his father say that any money received from selling the story would be donated to the people involved in the search and rescue and other charities...


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## overit (16 July 2009)

*Re: Who's a lucky boy then?*

It will be interesting to see how much they handover now some big $$$ are getting waived around. I have to admit I am deeply suspicious of the whole story but will gladly eat my words if he hands over all the dosh.



jono1887 said:


> Didn't his father say that any money received from selling the story would be donated to the people involved in the search and rescue and other charities...


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## Garpal Gumnut (16 July 2009)

*Re: Who's a lucky boy then?*

He's a pommie bastard.

Full stop.

gg


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## nunthewiser (16 July 2009)

*Re: Who's a lucky boy then?*



Garpal Gumnut said:


> He's a pommie bastard.
> 
> Full stop.
> 
> gg




HAHAHAHAHAH  OFF WITH HIS HEAD!


 thanks GG that brought a big grin to my dial


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## overit (16 July 2009)

*Re: Who's a lucky boy then?*

Here we go.. they added some more to the story after I posted it. They certainly appear to be going to milk it.




> JAMIE Neale's new celebrity agent says *some money* from his exclusive publicity deal would be donated to those who rescued him.
> 
> Sean Anderson, who runs Sydney based 22 Management, signed the British backpacker who survived 12 days lost in the Blue Mountains and his father Richard Cass to an exclusive deal today.
> 
> ...


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## awg (16 July 2009)

*Re: Who's a lucky boy then?*

Theres something more to this story than meets the eye.

Is anyone aware of what sort of temps and times people can survive in comparable situations?

nights apparently -2 to -5C...any rain?

If it was me, 3 nights max, take me out in a body bag

however, if I had proper thermals and a small tent stashed somewhere, fuel stove and a few days food, who knows

I might like to test myself out for a 5 figure payout.

Anyone remember what was the story with that Australian guy in the Himalayas, who survived on a Mars bar for 40 odd days, some years ago


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## overit (17 July 2009)

*Re: Who's a lucky boy then?*

More clowns than a circus! 



> Sydney spruiker Max Markson, who acts for Chk Chk Boom girl Clare Werbeloff and party brat Corey Worthington, said any suggestion Jamie should return monies made from his rescue could be countered by turning the scrutiny on emergency services.
> 
> "I think it comes down to the individual person about who pays the costs but he could argue they didn't do a very good job of finding him if he was missing for 12 days," Mr Markson said.


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## Macquack (17 July 2009)

*Re: Who's a lucky boy then?*



overit said:


> More clowns than a circus!
> 
> Sydney spruiker Max Markson, who acts for Chk Chk Boom girl Clare Werbeloff and party brat Corey Worthington, said any suggestion Jamie should return monies made from his rescue could be countered by turning the scrutiny on emergency services.
> 
> "I think it comes down to the individual person about who pays the costs but he could argue they *didn't do a very good job of finding him *if he was missing for 12 days," Mr Markson said.




Max Markson is a parasite on society.

Markson must live a very sheltered life because with comments like the above, he would not want to walk down any dark alleys particularly in the proximity of a rescue services organisation.


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## MrBurns (20 July 2009)

*Brittish backpacker lying ?*

From Ch9 - 



> British backpacker Jamie Neale has denied claims his ordeal in the New South Wales Blue Mountains was a hoax.
> 
> The 19-year-old was found dehydrated, but in relatively good health, after spending 12 days in freezing conditions.
> 
> ...




He also said he had a diary where he put all his final messages to friends but amazingly he's lost it !

Watch this space.


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## Agentm (20 July 2009)

*Re: Who's a lucky boy then?*



awg said:


> Theres something more to this story than meets the eye.
> 
> Is anyone aware of what sort of temps and times people can survive in comparable situations?
> 
> ...




i am with you on this

totally unbelievable story

this guy looks in great shape arriving in hospital after being found


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## xyzedarteerf (20 July 2009)

*Re: Who's a lucky boy then?*



Agentm said:


> i am with you on this
> 
> totally unbelievable story
> 
> this guy looks in great shape arriving in hospital after being found




he does not look dehydrated or dirty which is how you should look like when you get lost, looks like he probably spent a few nights in a hotel.
me smells a fake here his looking forward to his book deals , tv appearances, the pommy audience will love it.


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## Agentm (20 July 2009)

hmmmmmmmmmm


i thought the poms stopped sending their crooks to australia 100's of years ago......



Police to reinterview British backpacker Jamie Neale


Australian police want to reinterview the British backpacker Jamie Neale to clarify the details of his incredible 12-day survival in dense bushland outside Sydney.


The announcement came as Mr Neale's father, Richard Cass, was forced to deny suggestions that the remarkable story was a hoax.

"I don't want people saying he's a fake or anything like that, because I know that sort of thing is not true," he said. 

Mr Cass said his son, who he said was fragile, depressed and had yet to crack a smile, was aware that "people were disbelieving".

He said: "He's been though a God awful experience and for him then not to be believed that will obviously be quite psychologically damaging."

Officers involved in the operation to find Mr Neale after he went missing in the Blue Mountains on July 3, have said they had "no reason to disbelieve" his story, but wanted to double-check the exact details of his account.

*Mr Neale, who walked out of the remote Cedar Valley on Wednesday morning after encountering two bushwalkers on a fire trail, said he had lived on seeds and a leaf that "looked like rocket", drinking from streams and sleeping under a log.*

He emerged from the dense forest scratched, dehydrated and suffering from exposure, but otherwise unharmed.

*His relative good health has led to questions over how he managed to keep himself alive in unfamiliar and unforgiving terrain in the middle of the Australian winter.
*
Mr Neale set off without his mobile phone and without letting anyone know where he was going. *He had little food and was wearing just a shirt and dark jacket that did not protect him from the elements *and made him hard to spot by rescuers.

*No explanation has been given of how Mr Neale, who had never been to Australia before, knew which seeds, berries and grasses from the bush would be safe to eat. It was also not clear how he managed to stay dry and warm despite the wet and sometimes freezing conditions in the mountains at this time of year.*

*One experienced bushwalker from Katoomba also queried how Mr Neale had managed to lose his way on the track from the Ruined Castle rock formation to Mount Solitary, which he said was easy to follow, even in the dark.*

The man, who has extensive hiking experience in the region, said: *"It's not easy to just wander off that track."*

But Superintendent Tony McWhirter, local area commander, said there was nothing to suggest his story was untrue.

*He said they wanted to reinterview him over "where he was and how he went about what he did for that period of time". Mr Neale was briefly interviewed after his rescue, but has not spoken to police since.*

"The incredible is always hard to believe, if I'd have said a missing bushwalker had been found deceased that's logical and explainable," Supt McWhirter said.

"But there is nothing to suggest that anything he has said is not factual."

Mr Neale released a brief statement on Thursday thanking "everyone for their help and support", but has so far declined to speak publicly about what happened during his 12 days in the wilderness.

*It is believed he has signed an exclusive deal with an Australian news network worth about £25,000. *Earlier this week Mr Cass pledged his son would not profit from the story and that any money he earned would be donated to local search and rescue teams.

on Thursday night Mr Neale, was recovering in the Blue Mountains Hospital. Doctors said he was stable, in good mental health and showed no signs of hypothermia. He was also sleeping normally and eating "everything the hospital had to offer."

*Andrew Sharp, a local survival expert, said he would like to hear more detail about how Mr Neale stayed alive. The teenager had been "pretty lucky" with his experiments with bush tucker and would have "suffered a bit" during the sub-zero nights, he said.*

Mr Neale, of Muswell Hill in north London, went missing on July 3. He was later seen by a married couple at the Ruined Castle rock formation, about five miles from Katoomba. His rescue on Wednesday was described by local search teams as "a miracle".


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## awg (20 July 2009)

*Re: Who's a lucky boy then?*



Agentm said:


> i am with you on this
> 
> totally unbelievable story
> 
> this guy looks in great shape arriving in hospital after being found




To my knowledge, it rained up there quite a lot during those times.

I am not an expert on human physiology, but afaic, if he got wet, with temps as low as -5c, death from exposure would be certain within 3 days, UNLESS he had taken preparations.

So how did he not get wet?

I dont know where i read this, but I seem to recall, there was a question about his mental state at some time prior.

I have some experience in solo bush wacking.

looking at those pics, his condition is way too good

he would have been scratched beyond recognition...but not one scratch on his face.

IMO he must have had a tent, and sat put, 

bushbashing in conditions like these leads to numerous falls, due to the slippery terrain, and rotted vegetation. 

In addition to this he would have been savagely attacked by leeches.

When you fall, your face gets scratched by all manner of vines, sticks, rocks 

His face should look like 10 rounds with Mike Tyson.

btw, no-one should ever go into the bush without a compass.

there are other things that make me disbelieve, although I am unfamiliar with the topography of the exact area, there are fairly simple methods to navigate out, including following any creek downstream, or climbing the most prominent ridge and staying put.

Of course, I could be wrong, I once read an incredible account of Ludwig Leichardt, solo in the Barrington mountains for 3 weeks, but I cant remember what time of year it was


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## overit (20 July 2009)

What the hell was 60minutes thinking. $200k for this story. Are they really that lazy and that desperate for a story?



> I admit I'm a total idiot - backpacker Jamie Neale
> 
> July 20, 2009 07:01am
> 
> ...


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## Agentm (20 July 2009)

Jamie Neale
London backpacker lost in Australian bush survives for 12 days


Ruined castle
Sunday 12th July, police focus their search on ruined castle after hikers described a 10 minute conversation they had with the backpacker

Jamie found
Two bushwalkers find Jamie near the Narrow Neck fire trail, near Katoomba, 15th July.


Katoomba youth hostel

Thursday 2nd July, teenager checks into hostel, before embarking on walk. Hostel staff report him missing two days later.


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## MrBurns (20 July 2009)

I think the police will sort him out fairly soon, $200,000 ?????????????? gee I think I'm gunna get lost in the bush fairly soon.......
Thats reeks of a scam.

I bet 60 minutes have a clause in there to get their money back if he 's lying.


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## trainspotter (20 July 2009)

I have no doubt this guy is for real. I watched an interview with him this morning. Fair dinkum this guy belongs on one of those bright yellow buses with "SPECIAL SCHOOL" written down the side of it. He should be in the second seat from the front with his tongue firmly pressed against the glass trying to lick his way out. Unless he is a direct descendant of an epic love triangle between Harry Butler, Steve Irwin and Major Les Hiddins there is no way this knuckle dragging, frontal lobotomy of a human being could have survived on seeds and "rocket looking" plants. This guy could not find his @rse in three grabs let alone tie his shoelaces.

Total faker who will be exposed in the fullness of time.


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## trainspotter (20 July 2009)

More of the same here: Just with a few more players. Nothing special about him at all.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25786852-661,00.html


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## Timmy (20 July 2009)

trainspotter said:


> I have no doubt this guy is for real. I watched an interview with him this morning. Fair dinkum this guy belongs on one of those bright yellow buses with "SPECIAL SCHOOL" written down the side of it. He should be in the second seat from the front with his tongue firmly pressed against the glass trying to lick his way out. Unless he is a direct descendant of an epic love triangle between Harry Butler, Steve Irwin and Major Les Hiddins there is no way this knuckle dragging, frontal lobotomy of a human being could have survived on seeds and "rocket looking" plants. This guy could not find his @rse in three grabs let alone tie his shoelaces.
> 
> Total faker who will be exposed in the fullness of time.




Tell us what you really think TS.:


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## trainspotter (20 July 2009)

Isn't it *"TELL IT LIKE IT IS"* Monday?


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## trainspotter (20 July 2009)

*More fuel to the fire. Sceptics of the world UNITE ~*

Sun security expert McNab said: "This boy was supposed to be out in the freezing cold for two weeks dressed in jogging bottoms and thin top layers. 

*"I'd expect hypothermia to kill him in a few days. *

"I know of an SAS lad who died from hypothermia within 36 hours on the Brecon Beacons - and he was in the proper kit. 

"It doesn't seem to stack up. It's a popular tourist destination so how can he get lost? There are cable cars, paths and signposts. If he was trying to find his way out you'd expect him to have lots of scratches." 

Sun doctor Carol Cooper looked at photos of Jamie before and after, and said: "I'd expect someone who had gone through that ordeal to have lost at least 8lb. He doesn't look like he's lost enough weight and there aren't many scratches on him. If I didn't know otherwise I'd guess he'd been out camping for a night." 

Ex-special forces officer Ken Hames said: "About 40 per cent of berries in that region are edible, the rest will make you ill. He's inexperienced enough to get lost in an area with signposts and footpaths, but he knows all about these berries. I find that really hard to accept. And how did he not eventually stumble across a trail?" 

Ooops .. the wheels are beginning to fall off.


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## trinity (20 July 2009)

He should pay back the money spent looking for him.  Did he have travel insurance?  

His dad initially said all money earned off this story will be given back to the rescue teams etc, then, changes this to a percentage, which is probably 0%.

What a joke...


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## jono1887 (20 July 2009)

trinity said:


> He should pay back the money spent looking for him.  Did he have travel insurance?
> 
> His dad initially said all money earned off this story will be given back to the rescue teams etc, then, changes this to a percentage, which is probably 0%.
> 
> What a joke...




Perhaps laws should be made that the proceeds of selling stories should go towards the search and rescue teams that found them in the first place.


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## overit (24 July 2009)

Not even nostradamus could have seen that one coming?



> *Backpacker Jamie Neale yet to donate money*
> 
> *VOLUNTEERS involved in the search for British backpacker Jamie Neale in the Blue Mountains say they haven't received any donations from the teenager,* but are not seeking payment.
> 
> ...


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## MrBurns (24 July 2009)

overit said:


> Not even nostradamus could have seen that one coming?




When will they nail this guy ? It's taking too long.
Maybe if they threaten him with a bath ?


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## overit (24 July 2009)

The story is getting better. The father looks like he is about to dish some dirt out. Nothing like a money dispute to get the dirty laundry out in the air.




> THE dad of lost backpacker Jamie Neale is at war with his son after being cut out of a £50,000 TV deal.
> 
> Richard Cass is said to have flipped after the teenager refused to hand over half the cash.
> 
> ...


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## trainspotter (25 July 2009)

My my my ... a classic case of the tail wagging the dog. Yet again. Ho hum.


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## jono1887 (26 July 2009)

He's probably disappeared or decided to stay low for a while... whilst happily spending that money


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## berbouy (26 July 2009)

a little off topic , but in the west yesterday there was an article about a guy who wandered into the desert about  decade ago (for religious purposes -robert boglaski i think his name is) and looking at his photo when found, he really did look the real deal-that was a true survival story-not sure if he had a 60 minutes deal, but he now lives in alaska in the wilderness-what happened to the mars bar guy who got stranded in the himalayas


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## overit (17 September 2009)

That should just about cover it! 



> Jamie Neale sends rescuers a fraction of fee
> 
> September 17, 2009 07:03pm
> 
> ...


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## Mr J (17 September 2009)

It's a start .


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## jono1887 (17 September 2009)

hahha... that 50% shrunk down to 0.75%.. atleast some of it was donated i guess


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## trinity (17 September 2009)

I'll say it again ... what a joke


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## Julia (17 September 2009)

trinity said:


> I'll say it again ... what a joke



Agree, trinity.  What a little tosser.


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## Euphrosyne (20 July 2013)

Only registered because of this thread.

I have spent 30 yrs walking in this area.

A blind man could find the track.
You go south you hit the Cox river follow it west you meet the road to Medlow Gap(just after the Kowmung River)
You go West you will hit the road to Narrow neck or narrow neck itself and if you go south here once you hit it you will hit the road. If you go north you will hit the track(as you must have crossed it already)
If you go east you will hit another road although it may take longer than a day.

"surviving on Bush Tucker?" what absolute crap!!! From MT Solitary you can SEE Katoomba and I have yet to find easy edibles, yabbies excepted anywhere in the bush and I have 40yrs bushwalking experience. Rocket like plant??

This guy is an absolute liar and another reason to ignore 60 minutes and current affair.

But it is the media and the "deleted" journalists who have the ethics of rabid dogs who are at fault here.

Wont bother you lot again


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## burglar (20 July 2013)

Euphrosyne said:


> Only registered because of this thread. ...
> ... Wont bother you lot again




Hi Euphrosyne,
Welcome to ASF

No bother, I enjoyed reading your post!


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## Knobby22 (21 July 2013)

Thanks Euphrosyne 


Always interesting to hear the truth.


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