3-year-old Australian boy with autism found after 3 days' lost alone in the woods

Canberra, Australia — A 3-year-old boy wearing a sweatshirt and diapers was found sitting in a creek and cupping water in his hands to drink on Monday, three days after he was lost in rugged Australian woodland. Hundreds of people had been searching for Anthony "AJ" Elfalak, who has autism and is non-verbal, since he went missing from his family's remote rural property near the village of Putty, north of Sydney, late Friday morning.

The crew of a police helicopter spotted him sitting in shallow water in a creek bed late Monday morning about 510 yards from his home, Police Superintendent Tracy Chapman said.   He was in good condition but was taken to a hospital for observation, ambulance officers said.   His father, Anthony Elfalak, said AJ had been bitten by ants, had diaper rash and suffered abrasions.   "It's a miracle," the father told reporters after he and his wife, Kelly Elfalak, were reunited with their son.   "He's just clinging to mum. As soon as he heard his mum, he opened his eyes and looked at her and fell asleep," he said. AJ was found in an area that had been searched before. Police are assuming he spent the entire time in the woods, Chapman said.