Two people have now been found alive after spending almost two weeks lost in the vast Australian outback, police said Tuesday.
Phu Tran, 40, was discovered in Palmer Valley Station, a remote area near Alice Springs, according to a statement from Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services.
Tran had spent two weeks in rocky desert terrain with no food when he was found by a cattle farmer, police said. He had survived by boiling and drinking ground water using a jerrycan.
"Two weeks’ survival is insane," a Northern Territories Police spokesperson told NBC News. "It doesn’t happen."
Tran was one of three people who went missing on Nov. 19 after they took a drive into the Outback with their dog, police said. Family members reported their disappearance after several days of no contact.
Tamra McBeath-Riley, 52, and the dog, Raya, were found alive on Monday after police discovered the group's car bogged down in a river bed during an aerial search of the area. The third person in the group, McBeath-Riley's partner Claire Hockridge, 46, is still missing.
“I took a wrong turn, basically and [the car] ended up being bogged,” McBeath-Riley told a press conference after her rescue. “We dug ourselves under the car during the day into the sand where it was a lot cooler. At night we could sleep in the car. We tried many times to try and get [the car] out, but we just ventured forth to try and find some shelter and water,” she added.
McBeath-Riley stayed close to the car, while Hockridge and Tran took a GPS-enabled device and compass and set off in the direction of a highway about 12 miles away, Pauline Vicary, Superintendent of Alice Springs Police Division told a press conference on Dec. 1.
Tran and Hockridge then each chose different routes to try and get help, and when Tran was found, he was alone.
"One wanted to go high and the other wanted to follow the fence line," a police spokesperson told NBC. "Sometimes the thinking is you go up high to see where you are, but also after 14 days, you don’t have rational thoughts."
Tran and McBeath-Riley have both received treatment for exposure at a local Alice Springs hospital. Search efforts for Hockridge continue.
