Dad nearly gave up hope of seeing lost son alive again

Richard Cass (left) with his son Jamie Neale at the Blue Mountains District ANZAC Memorial Hospital in New South Wales. Photo / Getty Images

SYDNEY - The father of a missing British backpacker found alive after 12 days in rugged bushland had apparently given up hope of his son being found and was about to board a plane back to England.

Richard Cass was urgently contacted by NSW police on Wednesday after his 19-year-old son, Jamie Neale, was found at about 11.30am (1.30pm NZT) on Wednesday by two bushwalkers in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.

Mr Cass has been flown by police helicopter to Katoomba Hospital, where his son is being treated for exposure and dehydration.

"Two bushwalkers alerted emergency services to advise they had come across a man who identified himself as Jamie Neale near the Narrow Neck fire trail, near Katoomba," police said in a statement.

"Police rescue officers, using a Rural Fire Service vehicle, made their way to the location and confirmed the identity of the man."

He had last been seen about midday on July 3.

A mammoth search had been mounted for Mr Neale, who had left many of his possessions, including a mobile phone, at the youth hostel in the centre of Katoomba where he had been staying.

He was seen leaving the hostel, intending to walk the popular track to the Ruined Castle rock formation and was last sighted hours later on top of it.

He told a married couple he met there he intended to keep walking to Mount Solitary, a return trip of about 10 hours.

His mother, Jean Neale, said she never doubted that they would see him again.

"I never gave up hope. I always knew that he'd be coming home," she told Sky News UK.

"I told all the family and all his friends that he was coming home, and I have no doubts about that.

"We've all been helping each other."

Ms Neale said she had briefly spoken to her son on the phone.

"He just wanted to hear me," she said.

"He looks very well, but he sounded very tearful, very exhausted."

Mr Neale, who arrived in Australia on June 22 for a holiday, is described by his family as an experienced hiker.

On Friday, Mr Cass praised his son's survival skills.

"He's very tolerant of cold and if anybody can survive this, he will," he told reporters.

Searchers included local police, the rescue squad, the dog unit and Polair, as well as volunteers from the Rural Fire Service, the State Emergency Service, the Volunteer Rescue Association and the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

- AAP