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Missing Briton found in Australian Outback

LONGREACH, Australia, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Rescuers said Friday they found a British backpacker who had been missing for two days in Australia's Outback.

Police said Sam Woodhead, 18, of West London, was in good condition and was undergoing a medical evaluation before being taken to Longreach Hospital for treatment.

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"He is hydrated and suffering sunburn," a statement from police said. "Due to poor communications we have no further information ... We have no information as to how the man was located or the circumstances.''

Woodhead, described by family as an outdoor and nature enthusiast, had traveled to Queensland in December to spend a gap year traveling before returning to Britain to join the army in October, The Courier-Mail newspaper in Brisbane reported.

Rescuers, using helicopters, a light aircraft and a gyrocopter, found Woodhead on a family member's property where he had been staying. His father, whose name wasn't reported, said he thinks his son might have ventured into the Outback for an adventure.

"I think he has found life in the farm difficult, it is so deserted, it is in the middle of the Outback, very isolated area and I think it became a challenge maintaining his interest and excitement levels out there," the father said.

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"He may well have thought, 'I'll do something a bit difficult.'"

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