British backpacker rescued in Australia after 12 days

Jamie Neale, 19, was last seen July 3 after leaving his youth hostel in Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Two hikers found Neale near a trail outside of Katoomba, police said.

New South Wales Police said Neale was taken to Katoomba's Blue Mountains Hospital suffering from exhaustion and dehydration.

His father said Neale ate seeds and weeds to stay alive, but was starting to give up hope that he would survive.

"He was kind of losing faith in the idea that there was a God every time that helicopter flew over and he waved and shouted and nothing happened," Richard Cass told reporters. "He did think he was going to die. He was that scared."

Cass said he also started to lose hope that his son would be found alive. He said he even held a private ceremony in the mountains to say goodbye, burning a candle and burying a red rose to mark Neale's English heritage.