Overview
- The teenagers set off Tuesday from Leura toward Mount Hay for a planned three-day hike in Blue Mountains National Park.
- They became separated shortly before 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Grose Valley, prompting the 17-year-old to activate a personal locator beacon.
- A coordinated land-and-air operation rescued the 17-year-old by winch from Acacia Flat as the search for his companion continued.
- Officers located the 16-year-old’s body about 1 p.m. Thursday in a creek within Blue Gum Forest, roughly 15 kilometers from the starting point.
- Local bushwalking leaders describe the terrain as remote and disorienting and stress the value of PLBs, which can be hired free from the National Parks and Wildlife Service.