TONY Lethbridge couldn't sleep.
It was early Monday morning and his 17-year-old son Samuel was missing.
It had been almost 24 hours since anyone had heard from him.
It was out of character and his family feared the worst.
A few hours earlier, after a series of unanswered calls to Samuel's mobile, Tony and his wife, Lee, had left Canberra and driven home to search for their boy.
“We got back into Newcastle about 1.30am [Monday morning] and went straight to the police station,” Tony said.
“They told us that he might have ran away, he could have done this or he could have done that and we just said it’s out of character; it’s not him.
“They put all the things in motion, and we waited and waited. They just told us to go home and wait.
It was early Monday morning and his 17-year-old son Samuel was missing.
It had been almost 24 hours since anyone had heard from him.
It was out of character and his family feared the worst.
A few hours earlier, after a series of unanswered calls to Samuel's mobile, Tony and his wife, Lee, had left Canberra and driven home to search for their boy.
“We got back into Newcastle about 1.30am [Monday morning] and went straight to the police station,” Tony said.
“They told us that he might have ran away, he could have done this or he could have done that and we just said it’s out of character; it’s not him.
“They put all the things in motion, and we waited and waited. They just told us to go home and wait.
But Tony could not wait - “I just couldn’t get it out of my head that he’d crashed somewhere.”
Samuel had been driving back from the Central Coast around 6.30am on Sunday. He had messaged his girlfriend and arranged to meet her at the family home at Blacksmiths after she finished work around lunchtime.
He never arrived.
As Tony's mind raced, he recalled an accident from a few years earlier along the same stretch of the Pacific Highway that he believed Samuel would have been driving on. That driver wasn't found for five days.
“And he’d passed away," Tony said. “That was in my head, so i just thought bugger this I’m not going to sit around and wait.
“With the way the bush is there, if a car goes in your not going to see it. The only way you’ll see it is from the air. And that’s what we did.
“I thought, I’m going to get a helicopter no matter what.
I just rocked in there and said ‘Mate, I’ve got $1000 – I need you to search as much as you can’.
Tony LethbridgeWith the cash in his hand, Tony walked into the Lake Macquarie Airport at 9am. On the dot.
Lee Mitchell, of Skyline Aviation Group, said the man looked "anxious and fatigued".
“He asked if he could, no - he said, he ‘needed a helicopter bad’,” said Mr Mitchell, a helicopter pilot with 18 years' flying experience.
“He told us it was for his missing son and said he believed his son had run off the road somewhere.”
The company had cancelled training flights for that morning because of high winds whipping the Hunter Region but it immediately agreed to start the search.
As Tony - who struggles with flying - drove off to go and pick up his brother, the flight crew readied the helicopter.
Tony’s brother, Michael took the flight while Tony and Lee waited for news from the family home at Blacksmiths. It didn't take long.
Within 10 minutes, they received news that a car fitting the description of Samuel’s vehicle had been spotted just off the Pacific Highway near Crangan Bay.
Immediately, Tony began the frantic drive out to the site.
The car was buried in deep bushland, and it was unclear from the helicopter if there was anyone inside.
The chopper put Samuel’s uncle Michael on the ground near the former big prawn service station.
As Michael made the grim approach to the crash site, the pilot hovered above to provide a reference for Tony and emergency services.
Fearing what he might find when he arrived, Michael began to call Samuel’s name as began the 50m walk down to the accident site.
There was no response.
But then Michael spotted Samuel moving his head inside the wreck. At that point, he sent a text message to his brother – “He’s alive”.
“When I got there, I ran down there and it was just jubilation,” Tony said.
“It was unbelievable, to find him there.”
Trapped in his vehicle for what was nearing 30 hours, Samuel was dehydrated and suffering serious injuries. A broken thigh bone was protruding three inches through the skin.
“You wouldn’t have seen him if it wasn’t for the helicopter, because I couldn’t see him from the road,” Tony said.
If the helicopter wasn’t hovering above, I would have never had found him.
Tony LethbridgeTony said it was likely the car was travelling around “80 kmh” when it ran off the road and had been totally destroyed. It’s believed the car hit a concrete pole – which ripped the driver’s side door off – and spun, rolled and luckily, landed on its wheels.
Emergency services arrived on the scene and had to cut the vehicle open to pull Samuel from the wreckage.
Stable and in intensive care on Tuesday afternoon, Samuel had undergone several scans since arriving at John Hunter Hospital
With a broken arm, dislocated elbow and little fractures “here and there” according to his dad, it is expected his recovery will be a long process. Surgery on Wednesday on his arm and leg should heal the most immediate problems.
Samuel was described by his dad as a “good, tough and very fit kid” who plays for Belmont-Swansea Football Club in the NewFM under-19’s soccer competition.
The 17-year-old had only started an electrical apprenticeship on Friday with Nova Electrical. That will now have to be put on hold.
“He spoke to me when I got down to the car, I grabbed him and I said: ‘Mate, dad’s got you’.”
Samuel’s first words to his father were: “I’d love a drink”.
“They were the only words he spoke,” Tony recalled.
Samuel had been driving back from the Central Coast around 6.30am on Sunday. He had messaged his girlfriend and arranged to meet her at the family home at Blacksmiths after she finished work around lunchtime.
He never arrived.
As Tony's mind raced, he recalled an accident from a few years earlier along the same stretch of the Pacific Highway that he believed Samuel would have been driving on. That driver wasn't found for five days.
“And he’d passed away," Tony said. “That was in my head, so i just thought bugger this I’m not going to sit around and wait.
“With the way the bush is there, if a car goes in your not going to see it. The only way you’ll see it is from the air. And that’s what we did.
“I thought, I’m going to get a helicopter no matter what.
I just rocked in there and said ‘Mate, I’ve got $1000 – I need you to search as much as you can’.
Tony LethbridgeWith the cash in his hand, Tony walked into the Lake Macquarie Airport at 9am. On the dot.
Lee Mitchell, of Skyline Aviation Group, said the man looked "anxious and fatigued".
“He asked if he could, no - he said, he ‘needed a helicopter bad’,” said Mr Mitchell, a helicopter pilot with 18 years' flying experience.
“He told us it was for his missing son and said he believed his son had run off the road somewhere.”
The company had cancelled training flights for that morning because of high winds whipping the Hunter Region but it immediately agreed to start the search.
As Tony - who struggles with flying - drove off to go and pick up his brother, the flight crew readied the helicopter.
Tony’s brother, Michael took the flight while Tony and Lee waited for news from the family home at Blacksmiths. It didn't take long.
Within 10 minutes, they received news that a car fitting the description of Samuel’s vehicle had been spotted just off the Pacific Highway near Crangan Bay.
Immediately, Tony began the frantic drive out to the site.
The car was buried in deep bushland, and it was unclear from the helicopter if there was anyone inside.
The chopper put Samuel’s uncle Michael on the ground near the former big prawn service station.
As Michael made the grim approach to the crash site, the pilot hovered above to provide a reference for Tony and emergency services.
Fearing what he might find when he arrived, Michael began to call Samuel’s name as began the 50m walk down to the accident site.
There was no response.
But then Michael spotted Samuel moving his head inside the wreck. At that point, he sent a text message to his brother – “He’s alive”.
“When I got there, I ran down there and it was just jubilation,” Tony said.
“It was unbelievable, to find him there.”
Trapped in his vehicle for what was nearing 30 hours, Samuel was dehydrated and suffering serious injuries. A broken thigh bone was protruding three inches through the skin.
“You wouldn’t have seen him if it wasn’t for the helicopter, because I couldn’t see him from the road,” Tony said.
If the helicopter wasn’t hovering above, I would have never had found him.
Tony LethbridgeTony said it was likely the car was travelling around “80 kmh” when it ran off the road and had been totally destroyed. It’s believed the car hit a concrete pole – which ripped the driver’s side door off – and spun, rolled and luckily, landed on its wheels.
Emergency services arrived on the scene and had to cut the vehicle open to pull Samuel from the wreckage.
Stable and in intensive care on Tuesday afternoon, Samuel had undergone several scans since arriving at John Hunter Hospital
With a broken arm, dislocated elbow and little fractures “here and there” according to his dad, it is expected his recovery will be a long process. Surgery on Wednesday on his arm and leg should heal the most immediate problems.
Samuel was described by his dad as a “good, tough and very fit kid” who plays for Belmont-Swansea Football Club in the NewFM under-19’s soccer competition.
The 17-year-old had only started an electrical apprenticeship on Friday with Nova Electrical. That will now have to be put on hold.
“He spoke to me when I got down to the car, I grabbed him and I said: ‘Mate, dad’s got you’.”
Samuel’s first words to his father were: “I’d love a drink”.
“They were the only words he spoke,” Tony recalled.
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