28 days later: Missing man who got lost in Australia bush survived by eating mussels, fruit and BUTTERFLIES

Bush survivor: Stephen Currie has been found after surviving 28 days in the Queensland bush with no provisions

It was not the most appetising of diets.
But for Stephen Currie it was the difference between life and death after getting lost in the Australian bush for an epic 28 days.
The 40-year-old kept himself alive by eating freshwater mussels, fruit and butterflies as he wandered around a remote area of northern Queensland.
He was finally discovered by locals 10km west of the town of Chillagoe, weeks after police had given up hope of finding him.

The missing man was discovered wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, 15kg lighter than he was before he went missing. He had no hat, no provisions and no shoes.
Mr Currie, described in the Courier Mail as ‘a bit of a loner’, left his caravan at about 8.30am on December 29 and walked towards the town’s industrial area.
His disappearance had completely baffled police who launched an extensive air and land search of the rugged Queensland countryside, including the mineshafts and caves in the area.
The search was called off in early January with officers giving up hope of ever finding him.
When he was finally found, he said that he had gone for a walk and become disoriented in the bush. He tried to follow the Walsh River back into town, but became lost again.

Mr Currie described how he would go for a walk to see if he could find a bush trail and it was on one of these excursions that he was discovered by locals.

During his ordeal, Mr Currie slept in a bed he made out of bark in the sand and stayed close to the river, which provided him with drinking water and a place to gather food.
‘By all money I thought he was gone. It’s unbelievable. I phoned his mother straight away… his family lives in Victoria and they’ve been calling me every couple of days. They were obviously beside themselves,’ Detective Senior Constable Vince Marcel told the Courier Mail.