AJ is fine Missing three-year-old Anthony Elfalak found alive

Missing three-year-old Anthony “AJ” Elfalak has been found alive in the Hunter region on Monday, sitting in a creek bed and cupping muddy water into his mouth, less than 500 metres away from the remote family home from where he vanished from last week.

AJ’s parents, Anthony and Kelly Elfalak, reported the boy missing from their home on Yengo Drive at Putty, south-west of Singleton, after he disappeared while playing with his brothers about 11.45am on Friday.

The large-scale search for the toddler, who is non-verbal and has autism, had entered its fourth day on Monday. He was spotted by police helicopter PolAir 1 sitting in the creek about 11.30am, wearing a long-sleeved top and pants, drinking water and washing his face.

Mr Elfalak said AJ clung to his mother in an ambulance after being reunited with his family early on Monday afternoon. “He looked at her [his mother] and fell asleep,” he said.

The toddler had nappy rash, was bitten by ants and had fallen over. “But he is alive,” Mr Elfalak said. “It’s amazing. My leg, my hips, my ankles, I can’t walk. I have been in the bush for four days with no sleep. We didn’t stop.”

In a statement, the Elfalaks said they were thankful to everyone who had “tirelessly” helped.

“Our family is together again. For that we are grateful to everyone who has assisted in any way over the last three days. AJ is fine. Hold your kids close. Please give our family the privacy to appreciate what we have.”

SES crews were directed to AJ’s location, about 470 metres from the house.

Found: Three-year-old Anthony “AJ” Elfalak. Credit:NSW Police

SES Chief Inspector Simon Merrick said one of the 385 volunteers who had joined the search reached the boy and put a hand on his shoulder.

“He stated that he turned towards him with a massive smile on his face that he will not forget,” he said.

AJ was wrapped in their shirts before the ambulance arrived.

NSW Ambulance paramedic Gerry Pyke described the boy as a “little survivor”.

“For little AJ, everything was on his side,” he said. “He persevered, he had a will to survive and he certainly showed that.”

He said AJ had some lacerations on his lower legs, his temperature was most likely helped by him sitting in the water, and he had a bit of nappy rash after not being changed in three days.

The boy has been taken to Maitland Hospital as a precaution and to check for any infections, including after drinking from possibly contaminated water.

He said AJ’s spirits were high and picked up when he was cuddled by his parents. He fell asleep but was hungry when he woke and ate three slices of pizza and a banana.

The family believed the boy had been kidnapped, as he rarely left his mother’s side, and claimed they had seen a white ute driving by their rural property about the same time AJ disappeared. On Sunday, police seized a ute as part of their investigations.

But NSW Police released a statement at 11.45am on Monday saying the boy had been found.

“Missing three-year-old boy Anthony ‘AJ’ Elfalak has been located a short time ago,” police said.

Asked whether AJ had been in the bush for the whole of the three days, NSW Police Superintendent Tracy Chapman said: “That would be our assumption at this point in time.”

Superintendent Chapman said the boy’s movement, of drinking, had drawn the attention of PolAir.

A PolAir helicopter pilot locates missing three-year-old boy Anthony “AJ” Elfalak in a creek bed on Monday morning.Credit:NSW Police

She said the investigation would continue, “to understand what’s occurred over the past three days”, and noted another property was searched on Sunday after a community member reported “some sounds and noise, that person felt may have been a child crying or screaming”.

There were celebratory cheers from volunteers, family members hugged and laughed, and one emotional relative was on her knees after police told her helicopters had found AJ.

“Thank you everyone, thanks God, thank you for whoever prayed for us. Thank you for everyone who support [sic] us, thank you every much, everyone was good and kind,” she said.

The woman said AJ and his three brothers were always together. One of the brothers, Michael, told Nine News he was “feeling great about finding AJ”.

“At first I thought we will never find AJ, but then I was like, ‘No, the helicopters will find him because the helicopters are very high up, they can see anything,’ ” he said.

“He’s stronger than me and Patrick. We’ve never walked without someone ... AJ’s the bravest baby we ever have had.”

Godfather Alan Hashem said the past three days had been extremely emotional and he had heard AJ had been found alive when a journalist raised it at the daily COVID-19 press conference at 11am.

“I almost skied down the hill,” he said. “On the fourth day, you start to think the worst.”

AJ’s aunt Mirolla Sawan said she had slept on a pool table because the house had been filled with volunteers.

Ms Sawan extended her thanks to NSW Police, the SES and other volunteers who had searched tirelessly for AJ.

“At 2am, I was looking out and saw flashing lights. Our SES workers, they took [the search for AJ] personally,” she said. “I think now is a time of reflection.

“We are tired, no one has slept. At the end of the day … our boy is back.”

Mr Elfalak described the outcome as a “miracle”.

“He’s amazing,” he said. “The guy’s just grown feet now, I think he just wants to explore 700 acres.

The search for missing toddler AJ Elfalak.Credit:Nine News

“I just want to thank [the team], NSW Police, the detectives, SES, ambos, the horses, everyone. It’s crazy, I’ve never seen anything like it ... I was just hearing from family members what was going on, ‘You guys are famous’ ... I’m not famous, I just want to find my son, that’s all I want to do.”

“This is our oasis getaway â€" we don’t want issues with anyone, we don’t want to lose kids.”

Earlier on Monday, Mr Hashem, told Nine’s Today that there was missing CCTV footage from the time that AJ disappeared and the family believed “without a doubt” he had been abducted.

“I installed cameras on that post right there,” Mr Hashem said, pointing upwards. “There’s footage missing, unexplained. [It was there for] days before, days after, but not during the time.

“[We believe that he was abducted] for the simple reason that he is on the spectrum of autism ... He’s always quite afraid and very attached to his Mum ... and he’s never wandered.”

Superintendent Chapman said as part of their rural crime strategy, those living remotely are encouraged to have CCTV, as “it’s easy for people to access the area without too many neighbours noticing”.

“I don’t understand what has happened with some footage however it’s subsequently part of our inquiries still,” she said.

Mr and Mrs Elfalak moved to the Hunter property with their four sons in June for a three-month stint after Mr Elfalak’s work as a plumber dried up during Sydney’s lockdown. Mr Hashem lives on the farm next door.

Mr Hashem described the day AJ vanished as “a typical afternoon”. “The mother was preparing lunch, I was assisting, sitting on the hammock ... the kids were outside playing. The two eldest boys, Michael and Patrick, were in charge of looking after their brother, although their father was also outside fixing one of the quad bikes,” he said.

“The eldest boy needed to go to the bathroom. [He took] AJ who he was babysitting at the time while the Mum was preparing the lunch, and he left him just inside the dining area.

“After a few minutes the boys come out and entered through the other part of the house, and the mother goes, ‘Where’s AJ?’

The family’s initial search didn’t locate the boy. They reported his disappearance to the police and said they observed a white ute driving slowly down Yengo Drive about the time they noticed AJ had disappeared. “We didn’t think much of it [at the time],” Mr Hashem said.

Police confirmed on Sunday evening that they had seized a ute from a property at Bulga, a village which is about 78 kilometres north-east of where the child was last seen. They also seized CCTV footage from a service station at Colo Heights, which is about 40 minutes’ drive south of Putty towards Sydney, and investigated an abandoned house about one kilometre away from the family farm.

Trail bikes, sniffer dogs, horses, helicopters and police divers scoured the remote 650-acre farm, which has 15 dams flanked by dense bushland, over the weekend. One of the dams was drained by an excavator on Sunday morning, while Mr and Mrs Elfalak spent the day searching their property in a private helicopter.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian was asked about reports the boy had been found at her 11am press conference on Monday.

“I don’t know if that’s the case, but if it is, I would be absolutely delighted. I mean, I think all of us have been crossing everything to make sure AJ is brought back safely. And if that’s the case, it’s much-needed good news in otherwise difficult circumstances,” she said.

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