A Melbourne couple who spent four nights missing in Victoria’s rugged alpine region say they got lost from their walking track and survived on muesli bars.
Trevor Salvado, 60, and Jacinta ‘Cindy’ Bohan, 58, were found safe and well on Tuesday morning at Mount Buffalo, after spending four nights on a steep ledge.
“We basically got lost. That’s all that happened and then we stayed in one spot for four nights, and then this morning we were out, we needed to get out,” Bohan told reporters outside Wangaratta Hospital after getting a medical all-clear and surrounded by family.
“We could hear speed boats on Lake Buffalo and there were campers below us, there were cows and a dog and there were lights as well, so we knew we weren’t far away from people and help,” Salvado added.
“But we had about a 250-foot drop in front of us so we took a few days just to take a look at it and work out if we could get down there.”
After spending days surviving on food from their backpack, including muesli and snack bars, the couple decided on Tuesday they needed to leave.
“We were in a good spot, a safe spot so I really believed we would get found,” Bohan said.
“But we knew we had to think about our mind set and we just knew if we stayed too much longer and they hadn’t found us, oh my God. So, today we got the energy, let’s go.”
They just “walked out from where we were” and soon came across a mini-bus of Tafe students who were on a canoeing trip.
The experienced hikers said they got lost a couple of hours into their walk on Friday afternoon but never lost confidence that they would be found.
Looking tired and worn out, covered in scratches from brambles, Salvado and Bohan said they were not injured and kept calm during the ordeal and are looking forward to having a shower.
Salvado and Bohan endured frosty conditions after disappearing while hiking at Mount Buffalo on Friday.
They were last seen by friends at a caravan park in Bright on Friday morning.
The couple had been expected to return from a bushwalk at Reservoir Track on Mount Buffalo about noon, but did not arrive. Their car was found the next day.
MISSING HIKERS FOUND: the couple were found by a kayaker at 11:10am near Buffalo river road (red arrow).. It looks as though they have walked right through Mount Buffalo where they first went missing and came out the other side #7newsmelb pic.twitter.com/A3MJURldil
— Teegan Dolling (@tdolling) March 12, 2019
Police told reporters on Sunday the couple were fit and experienced hikers, and knew the area well.
Authorities launched a full-scale search, involving 150 searchers, on Tuesday. Police, Country Fire Authority and State Emergency Service workers, search dogs and bush search and rescue crews revisited parts of the rugged terrain and ventured into areas that were harder to reach.
Victoria police thanked search crews and the public for their assistance.
Earlier, Bohan’s sister, Maria, said the couple had been visiting the area for eight years.
“They’re very healthy,” she told the Nine Network. “They’re used to being out for hours and walking, and, you know, they spend a lot of time outside.”
