Outback survivor's diet of leeches and frogs

Submitted: Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 13:34
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I dont believe one word of it!

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Outback survivor's diet of leeches and frogs

A man says he lost 60kg after being lost in the harsh Northern Territory outback for three months.

Brisbane man Ricky Megee, 35, was found by workers at Birrindudu Station, about 50km from the homestead near the Northern Territory/West Australian border last week and was flown to Darwin hospital.

Police say Mr Megee had been in the outback "for a considerable time" and Royal Darwin Hospital medical director Len Notaras said a tanned Mr Megee arrived at the hospital severely underweight on April 5.

He spent six days being treated and was released two days ago.

"When he arrived his weight was around 45kg, which is fairly low for a man of about six feet three inches (1.9m)," Mr Notaras said.

"He was described ... as emaciated, but he was well hydrated and responded very well over the next few days up until he left hospital.

"It's possible he was in the bush for a period of time."

Mr Megee said he became lost in late January and survived by scrounging for insects to eat.

"I ate the leeches raw, straight out of the dam, grasshoppers I just ate them," Mr Megee told ABC Radio.

"But the only thing I really sort of had to cook was the frogs which (I) slipped onto a bit of wire and stuck the wire on top of my humpy, let the sun dry them out a fair bit until they were a bit crispy and then just ate them."

An NT police spokeswoman said Mr Megee was interviewed by police while he was in hospital.

"... This man spent a considerable amount of time in this area at various dams and waterholes surviving off the bush," police said in a statement.

"The investigation so far has found no evidence to suggest any criminal offences have been committed."

Authorities were still trying to locate the man's vehicle, a 2001 white Mitsubishi Challenger station wagon, with Queensland registration 398-GDY, police said in a statement.

Birrindudu Station manager Mark Clifford said the man was very weak when found.

"Driving along then a bloke comes stumbling out of his hide or his shelter, it would be pretty frightening I would imagine," Mr Clifford told News Limited newspapers.

"He was skeletal, he was really emaciated and when the boys found him he could only walk and fall and stumble."

Mr Clifford said the man told workers he had experienced car problems and became lost, but no car has been found.

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Reply By: turbopete - Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 13:38

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 13:38
WHY
AnswerID: 166882

Reply By: Voxson (Adelaide) - Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 13:43

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 13:43
Its a real bummer when your sat phone - hf radio - uhf radio - epirbs etc,,,, go on the blink and you have to go through what he went through...
AnswerID: 166883

Reply By: Gajm - Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 13:59

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 13:59
Sounds like an attempt at a movie deal to me....wasnt there a bloke who lived a few months in a cave with just a mars bar once? pfft
AnswerID: 166885

Follow Up By: Nick R - Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 16:57

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 16:57
get it right, 2 mars bars up in a snow cave in the himalayas!!!!!!
1 would've made it a bit challenging, guess he wanted mars sponsorship
NickR
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FollowupID: 421878

Follow Up By: Truckster (Vic) - Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 20:20

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 20:20
lol... beat me to it Nick!

These fools will believe anything they read...
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Follow Up By: G ajm - Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 21:02

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 21:02
Hence the "pfft"
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Reply By: cuffs - Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 14:11

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 14:11
Truckster believe in anything what a shock (do a search) lol
AnswerID: 166888

Follow Up By: Shaker - Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 14:18

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 14:18
Truckster still believes the world is flat!
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Follow Up By: Member - Andy Q (VIC) - Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 17:01

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 17:01
From what I've read, does Truckie believe in anything
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Follow Up By: Member - Crazy Dog (QLD) - Friday, Apr 14, 2006 at 11:13

Friday, Apr 14, 2006 at 11:13
If it's flat why do we need 4 wheel drives?

:)0
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Follow Up By: Truckster (Vic) - Tuesday, Apr 18, 2006 at 11:33

Tuesday, Apr 18, 2006 at 11:33
Gee.. what of the believers now... LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Reply By: Steve - Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 14:44

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 14:44
Just when I was thinking about Gut-busters....

Any volunteers for a drop off? I think Cape York would be a good place. Plenty of water and bushtucker. Don't fancy the leeches much.
AnswerID: 166892

Reply By: Joe King - Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 15:00

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 15:00
The man must have no common sense, 3 months lost, on a cattle station, with cattle pads which lead to dams, I don't know a single cattle cocky that would leave it more than a week or 2 to send someone to check the watering points, he deserves the "Dumbarse imocon" ( ? )
JKs2#
AnswerID: 166894

Follow Up By: Shaker - Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 16:28

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 16:28
They interviewed the station owner this morning, it is the most remote section of their station & it was only a fluke that a couple of station hands went that way at all.
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Reply By: Member - Beatit (QLD) - Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 15:09

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 15:09
I suppose he survived and we are greatful for that but one has to question if the gene pool has benefited. I'm with Truckster on this one it doesn't quite add up and I hope we find out what actually happened to him and how he became stranded. I'm sure it will be worthy of special mention in this year Darwin awards.

Kind regards
AnswerID: 166897

Follow Up By: Scubaroo - Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 17:08

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 17:08
Dunno - still alive after 3 months - sounds like hardy stock!
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Reply By: Member - Wim (Qld) - Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 15:26

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 15:26
Truckster

It gets better.

"Centrelink has questioned elements of a Brisbane man's story that he was drugged and left for dead on a remote Northern Territory cattle station.

Rick Megee, 35, says he was driving to Western Australia to start a job as human resources manager at the Port Hedland Centrelink office when he picked up a man who drugged him.

Mr Megee says he spent the next 10 weeks living off the land at the Birrindudu Station.

He was found in a severely malnourished state and has since discharged himself from Royal Darwin Hospital.

Centrelink's Perth office says they have no record of Mr Megee working for them and they do not have an office in Port Hedland."

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AnswerID: 166900

Follow Up By: Member - Bware (Tweed Valley) - Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 20:45

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 20:45
Wow! what drugs were they?
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Reply By: Footloose - Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 17:32

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 17:32
Something smells here and I don't mean the guys breath. There's always more to the story, isn't there ?
AnswerID: 166913

Reply By: Member - Willie , Epping .Syd. - Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 19:00

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 19:00
I was listening to a report on ABC radio and he said he had woken up under a sheet of plastic when four dingos had been scratching away at it to get to him !

I am starting to agree with Truckster . It all sounds a bit odd , especially if the police said there was no suspicious circumstances .

Willie .
AnswerID: 166923

Reply By: Sparkiepete - Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 19:55

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 at 19:55
Sounds like he was trying to win on "the biggest loser". Hey there is a thought. Why don't they feed this diet to those people on the show and see who looses the most. ;-)(Evil Grin)
AnswerID: 166929

Reply By: Willem - Friday, Apr 14, 2006 at 05:25

Friday, Apr 14, 2006 at 05:25
Disbelievers,

I would like to suggest that many people have not experienced the extreme conditions which exist in the Top End of Australia at any time of the year.

Cattle Stations are vast properties measured in size in Square Kilometres instead of acres. Birrindudu Station is 4110 sq kilometres in size. That is, as a square, 64km by 64km

If you do not know what you are doing out there you can become disorientated in a very short time, dehydrate and perish.

Rod Ansell, who wrote a book 'To fight the Wild' was lost out in the Fitzmaurice region for three months before accidentally coming into contact with some drovers. The Crocodile Dundee movie was based on his tale of survival.

While you mob sit comfortably in your houses in the populated areas of this Island you cannot imagine what it is like out in the scrub of Outback Australia. Travelling by, in an airconditioned vehicle, with all mod cons on board does not put you in to a desperate survival mode.

Media reports get it wrong 99.9% of the time so it is hard to judge the circumstances.

The bloke survived however to tell the tale. Good on him!
AnswerID: 166968

Follow Up By: Joe King - Friday, Apr 14, 2006 at 08:40

Friday, Apr 14, 2006 at 08:40
"While you mob sit comfortably in your houses in the populated areas of this Island you cannot imagine what it is like out in the scrub of Outback Australia."
LOL...... I've spent the majority of my life in the scrub of Outback Australia...
I agree with your comments about the media & knowing what you are doing.
good on him for surviving, thats about it, pure luck we've had a wet, a few months ago he would have been dead in 3 days...
to tell the tale, a very tall one I think...
I just think he could have done a lot more to help himself be found sooner...
JK
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Follow Up By: Joe King - Friday, Apr 14, 2006 at 08:45

Friday, Apr 14, 2006 at 08:45
that should read "A few months earlier"....
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Reply By: Member - Beatit (QLD) - Tuesday, Apr 18, 2006 at 07:49

Tuesday, Apr 18, 2006 at 07:49
The weekend paper in Brisbane highlighted some interesting facts (they were facts because they quoted our survivor). He is/was involved in drug running and he is unemployed. So I am more comfortable with the idea that the drugs were what got him out there in the first place and the unemployment part requires some monies from a story to be sold no doubt. Call me cynical but it seems just a little to easy to say that he was unfortunate finding himself in that situation.

Kind regards
AnswerID: 167503

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