October• 2018 | 45READER’S DIGEST
the longive-hour drive back to Lake
Macquarie.
Sam’s our sensible one, they told
themselves, but as they drove through
the darkness the fear mounted.Had he
picked up a hitchhiker? Was he the vic-
tim of foul play?Leigh, a nurse, knew
the statistics on P-plate car crashes,
but she fought to stay positive. Tony’s
mind kept wandering to their neigh-
bour who, a few years earlier, had shot
of the A43 and died in the bush. He
hadn’t been found for nearly a week.
It was around 1.30am when they
pulled into the driveway of their
home.he rest of the family were al-
ready there – Tony’s mother, who lived
next door, his older brother, Michael,
and his wife, Eileen. Megan had al-
ready contacted the police andilled
out a missing persons’ report, but
she’d been told there was little they
could do.
Tony jumped back in his car and
headed to the police station.his was
completely normal behaviour for a
17-year-old kid, they told him. He had
probably just run away. Come back if
he hasn’t shown up by morning.
Frustration welled up – he under-
stood the police had a protocol to fol-
low, but by now he was desperate. he
night was completely still as he left the
police station. Where was Sam? Why
wasn’t anyone doing anything?
That’snotmyson,thought Tony.
No one knows their child as well as
a parent, and Tony knew that Sam
needed him. He’d had been out there
forlongenough,Tonycouldn’tjust
sitandwait.Hehadtofollowhisgut
instinct andind his son.
Heheadedhometothink.Afor-
merbuilderwhonowworkedwith
hisbrotherasapostman,hestarted
to weigh the situation logically.here
wasonlyonewaytosearchthedense
bush:heneededaneyeinthesky.
Samhadnowbeenmissingfor
more than 24 hours. His injuries were
severe.Hisfemurwasbrokenandthe
bonewasstickingtencentimetres
outofhisthigh.heonlythingpre-
venting him from bleeding to death
was the pressure of the dashboard
which was pressing on his legs. He’d
hithisheadandhadfracturesand
dislocations all over his body.
Lying there semi-conscious, trapped
and unable to move, Sam endured the
pain throughout the heat of the Jan-
uary day and all the next night. The
main road was just metres away at the
top of the bank, but he was completely
hidden as his life started to ebb away.
Time was running out.FLIGHT OF FEAR
Just after 9am on Monday morning,
helicopter pilot Lee Mitchell was sit-
tingwiththreeofhiscolleaguesin
their demountable office at Skyline
Av iat ion when Tony bu rst t h roug h
the door.
“Here’s $1000. I need a helicopter
to look for my son,” Tony said to the
men, his desperation written all over
his tired face.