Race to find autistic teen missing in freezing cold on Mount Disappointment
Police say it is a race against time to locate a 14-year-old non-verbal autistic boy who spent a "life-threateningly" cold night missing in dense bushland north of Melbourne.
Hundreds of police and volunteers searched through the night for William Callaghan, who lost his family when he walked ahead of his father as they trekked to the Mount Disappointment summit, 10 kilometres east of Wallan, on Monday afternoon.
The boy's family have been joined by authorities, including the CFA and SES, as well as concerned members of the public keen to lend support.
Police and volunteers spent the freezing night trekking through the bush, with some on horseback and others on motorbikes, in an area where authorities have previously struggled to find missing people. They also scoured the thick vegetation from the sky.
"There's no sugar-coating it," Senior Sergeant Greg Paul said. "It was a very cold night last night, life-threateningly cold."
"We're fighting against time … We don't want to have someone out here [for] multiple nights.
William Callaghan, 14, was last seen on the south side of Mount Disappointment's summit about 2.20pm on Monday, the Queen's Birthday public holiday.Credit:Police Media
"We're pulling out every stop to find this young fellow … we really don't want this to turn badly."
About 300 people are involved in the search.
Police said Will's family was "quite upset" but handling the situation well in the harrowing circumstances. They have been searching since he went missing.
Will has the ability to wander long distances and is food- and drink-focussed. For this reason, police have asked local residents to check whether the boy snuck into their homes, or out outhouses, looking for food and shelter.
The vegetation in the area is dense from bushfire regrowth, making it difficult to walk through and almost impossible to inspect from the air.
Sergeant Paul said Will may have tried to protect himself from the extreme cold by ensconcing himself in the undergrowth.
Police remain positive because Tuesday's sunny forecast will make conditions more bearable.
"It's hard going. It's steep terrain," Sargeant Paul said, noting it had taken long periods of time to find other missing people in the area in the past.
"There's a lot of area here to get lost."
Will taps his chest and makes noises to communicate. He understands verbal communication from others and police are advising anyone who approaches him to do so calmly.
The boy was travelling in a southerly direction and had several kilometres to walk until he might have encountered farmland.
Anyone who sees Will is urged to call triple zero (000).
with AAP