Img: British backpacker Jamie Neale recreates a scene for the "Sixty Minutes" cameras. Credit: Damian Baker.
By Rich Bowden
The day that 19-year-old British backpacker Jamie Neale strolled from the dense bush into a hikers' camp just 15 kms from the sleepy Blue Mountains town of Katoomba in NSW, Australia, was also the day that the national (and international) press descended on the quiet village and began the slow evolution of an international story.Twelve days after being reported lost in the wilderness, in the middle of a chilly Blue Mountains winter in mid-July, search and rescue operations were continuing but winding down in cool, mostly dry conditions. Led by Supt Tony McWhirter, later praised as a "hero" by Mr Neale's family for refusing to give up on their son, the search had used an estimated 400 volunteers working in rotation over the 12 days. However a source connected to the effort told APMG the day before the Londoner's re-emergence that the mood amongst search teams was pessimistic that Mr Neale would be found alive.
So there was an initial air of disbelief followed by elation around Katoomba after news was received that the young man had walked into a camp of two bushwalkers on the morning of Wednesday July 15 brandishing his passport for recognition. At first the mood from locals was grateful, even jubilant, that the story hadn't turned out in a similar fashion to the tragic death of teenager David Iredale, who was separated from friends while walking in similar country to Mr Neale in 2006. Incredibly, as a NSW Coronor's inquest found, David's mobile phone pleas for help were ignored by 000 workers who considered the calls a prank.
Usually only the subject of tragic "lost in the bush" stories, or that of bushfire in summer or snow in winter, locals at first were content to join in the seemingly amazing story of survival. The media pack of journalists and film crews were happy to oblige, positively falling over themselves at the press conference called outside the hospital by Jamie's father Richard Cass.
Mr Cass told waiting press that he had received the good news at Sydney Airport, just prior to boarding a plane home. He had arrived in Australia to help in the search for his son and said in answer to questions that his son has survived on a diet of water lettuce and seeds, had slept under logs and had heard helicopters flying overhead many times but had no way of alerting them.
Observing the national press corps coverage as we struggled to obtain our own interviews and coverage was instructive. It was quickly apparent that the press wanted to put out a quick "feel good" survival story and subsequently the coverage for the first 24 hours or so by the national and international press was almost overwhelmingly positive for Mr Neale and his father.
No searching questions were asked of Mr Cass as he stood outside Blue Mountains hospital claiming his son was apparently impervious to the cold weather and that he had held no fears of his son's 12-day exposure to the biting, wintry conditions. Consequently most questions from the gallery were of the "How did you feel Mr Cass, when you got the call?" type.
However as the full story concerning the circumstances of the re-emergence of Mr Neale from the bush came to light, Blue Mountains survival experts, and search and rescue sources interviewed by the Auspacific Media Group (APMG) began to express some disquiet over the veracity of Mr Cass's claims on behalf of his son. Many points were raised in the young man's defence, for Jamie did not seem like the type of person who would attempt to falsify his survival story for supposed profit, and yet definite questions remained.
One member of the public connected with the search interviewed by the APMG at the beginning of our coverage of the story said it best when he stated "he looked remarkably well for a man who was in the bush that long" and asked "I wonder if there is more to this story."
Critics of Mr Neale's survival story point to the following anomalies:
1. Jamie was an experienced walker, yet told no one of his walking intentions, did not take emergency equipment, left his mobile phone at the Katoomba hostel where he was staying and took with him no means to light a fire.
2. He later said he was able to survive on "kangaroo berries" as well as seeds and a type of water lettuce. Yet Blue Mountains bush tucker experts have asked how Jamie was to know which of the foods were edible and which poisonous? He had,it is supposed, no prior bush tucker experience of the Blue Mountains.
3. Perhaps most remarkably, Mr Neale was able to walk from the police car delivering him to the local hospital, and, apart from some obvious loss of weight, looked comfortable and relatively well. Indeed hospital authorities said they were amazed Jamie did not need treatment for frostbite. No mention was made of any serious scratch wounds suffered by Mr Neale from his near fortnight of scrabbling around in the harsh bush.
4. There were reports that police had questioned how Mr Neale could have survived given the lack of warm clothing he appeared to carry. However police later accepted the Londoner's story that he had extra clothing in his backpack.
5. Expert Blue Mountains survival guides said the area in which Mr Neale became lost was "riddled" in tracks and it would have been very difficult for the British backpacker not to find one of them.
None of these questions disprove Mr Neale's survival story of course, however none of them were raised at any length to Mr Cass on the first or second days of the story. With promises of a quick photo-op with father at his son's bedside, it appeared most of the press representatives were happy to look for a quick, "feel-good" story in time for the evening news.
When finally Mr Cass was questioned on the anomalies, he merely said he knew his son and refused to believe he would consider such an act. He also said his son was "hurt" by suggestions he fabricated the story for personal gain. Police also came to the young man's rescue saying they had no evidence pointing to the contrary. Mr Neale's survival story was given some credence later in the week when hospital authorities had discovered what was described as the beginning stages of pneumonia.
Despite these isolated murmurings, local and media goodwill for Mr Neale and Mr Cass generally persisted on the second day as press access to Mr Neale was restricted to aid his recovery. However this appeared to shift dramatically when news came of the signing of a media agent Sydney-based media agent Sean Anderson who immediately forbade Mr Neale to speak with the press amid rumours that he had signed him to an estimated $A200,000 deal with the Channel Nine current affairs show "Sixty Minutes," rumours later proven correct.
Mr Anderson began whisking his valuable acquisition around in dark cars adding a note of intrigue to the story. In a later statement, designed perhaps to deflect mounting criticism of his client's apparent self interest, Mr Anderson said the bulk of the money received from the "Sixty Minutes" interview would be donated back to search and rescue teams.
It became clear though that, by now, what had began as happy news story had morphed into something far more darker. Rival media organizations to Channel Nine now appeared to be driven by a desire to wreck the "feel good" story. The Murdoch press's The Australian was dismissive of the Channel Nine coup, questioning why the news organisation would pay so much for someone who's story appeared to revolve around being "stupid."
Overseas the British coverage had also swung around. The tabloid Sun - owned by the same Murdoch News Corp - continued a drum roll of critical coverage including regular quotes from SAS experts who question whether anyone could have survived the conditions for 12 days.
Over one week later, Mr Neale has completed his interview with "Sixty Minutes" in which he admitted he had been "an idiot;" the story has left the front pages of the national and international media and the town of Katoomba has been removed from the national consciousness until the next newsworthy story. However with the deal with media agent Sean Anderson still firmly in the Jamie Neale backpack, don't be surprised if there are more twists and turns in the British press on this bizarre tale.
Film, best-selling book, survival recipe guide anyone?
View Larger Map
By Rich Bowden
The day that 19-year-old British backpacker Jamie Neale strolled from the dense bush into a hikers' camp just 15 kms from the sleepy Blue Mountains town of Katoomba in NSW, Australia, was also the day that the national (and international) press descended on the quiet village and began the slow evolution of an international story.Twelve days after being reported lost in the wilderness, in the middle of a chilly Blue Mountains winter in mid-July, search and rescue operations were continuing but winding down in cool, mostly dry conditions. Led by Supt Tony McWhirter, later praised as a "hero" by Mr Neale's family for refusing to give up on their son, the search had used an estimated 400 volunteers working in rotation over the 12 days. However a source connected to the effort told APMG the day before the Londoner's re-emergence that the mood amongst search teams was pessimistic that Mr Neale would be found alive.
So there was an initial air of disbelief followed by elation around Katoomba after news was received that the young man had walked into a camp of two bushwalkers on the morning of Wednesday July 15 brandishing his passport for recognition. At first the mood from locals was grateful, even jubilant, that the story hadn't turned out in a similar fashion to the tragic death of teenager David Iredale, who was separated from friends while walking in similar country to Mr Neale in 2006. Incredibly, as a NSW Coronor's inquest found, David's mobile phone pleas for help were ignored by 000 workers who considered the calls a prank.
Usually only the subject of tragic "lost in the bush" stories, or that of bushfire in summer or snow in winter, locals at first were content to join in the seemingly amazing story of survival. The media pack of journalists and film crews were happy to oblige, positively falling over themselves at the press conference called outside the hospital by Jamie's father Richard Cass.
Mr Cass told waiting press that he had received the good news at Sydney Airport, just prior to boarding a plane home. He had arrived in Australia to help in the search for his son and said in answer to questions that his son has survived on a diet of water lettuce and seeds, had slept under logs and had heard helicopters flying overhead many times but had no way of alerting them.
Observing the national press corps coverage as we struggled to obtain our own interviews and coverage was instructive. It was quickly apparent that the press wanted to put out a quick "feel good" survival story and subsequently the coverage for the first 24 hours or so by the national and international press was almost overwhelmingly positive for Mr Neale and his father.
No searching questions were asked of Mr Cass as he stood outside Blue Mountains hospital claiming his son was apparently impervious to the cold weather and that he had held no fears of his son's 12-day exposure to the biting, wintry conditions. Consequently most questions from the gallery were of the "How did you feel Mr Cass, when you got the call?" type.
However as the full story concerning the circumstances of the re-emergence of Mr Neale from the bush came to light, Blue Mountains survival experts, and search and rescue sources interviewed by the Auspacific Media Group (APMG) began to express some disquiet over the veracity of Mr Cass's claims on behalf of his son. Many points were raised in the young man's defence, for Jamie did not seem like the type of person who would attempt to falsify his survival story for supposed profit, and yet definite questions remained.
One member of the public connected with the search interviewed by the APMG at the beginning of our coverage of the story said it best when he stated "he looked remarkably well for a man who was in the bush that long" and asked "I wonder if there is more to this story."
Critics of Mr Neale's survival story point to the following anomalies:
1. Jamie was an experienced walker, yet told no one of his walking intentions, did not take emergency equipment, left his mobile phone at the Katoomba hostel where he was staying and took with him no means to light a fire.
2. He later said he was able to survive on "kangaroo berries" as well as seeds and a type of water lettuce. Yet Blue Mountains bush tucker experts have asked how Jamie was to know which of the foods were edible and which poisonous? He had,it is supposed, no prior bush tucker experience of the Blue Mountains.
3. Perhaps most remarkably, Mr Neale was able to walk from the police car delivering him to the local hospital, and, apart from some obvious loss of weight, looked comfortable and relatively well. Indeed hospital authorities said they were amazed Jamie did not need treatment for frostbite. No mention was made of any serious scratch wounds suffered by Mr Neale from his near fortnight of scrabbling around in the harsh bush.
4. There were reports that police had questioned how Mr Neale could have survived given the lack of warm clothing he appeared to carry. However police later accepted the Londoner's story that he had extra clothing in his backpack.
5. Expert Blue Mountains survival guides said the area in which Mr Neale became lost was "riddled" in tracks and it would have been very difficult for the British backpacker not to find one of them.
None of these questions disprove Mr Neale's survival story of course, however none of them were raised at any length to Mr Cass on the first or second days of the story. With promises of a quick photo-op with father at his son's bedside, it appeared most of the press representatives were happy to look for a quick, "feel-good" story in time for the evening news.
When finally Mr Cass was questioned on the anomalies, he merely said he knew his son and refused to believe he would consider such an act. He also said his son was "hurt" by suggestions he fabricated the story for personal gain. Police also came to the young man's rescue saying they had no evidence pointing to the contrary. Mr Neale's survival story was given some credence later in the week when hospital authorities had discovered what was described as the beginning stages of pneumonia.
Despite these isolated murmurings, local and media goodwill for Mr Neale and Mr Cass generally persisted on the second day as press access to Mr Neale was restricted to aid his recovery. However this appeared to shift dramatically when news came of the signing of a media agent Sydney-based media agent Sean Anderson who immediately forbade Mr Neale to speak with the press amid rumours that he had signed him to an estimated $A200,000 deal with the Channel Nine current affairs show "Sixty Minutes," rumours later proven correct.
Mr Anderson began whisking his valuable acquisition around in dark cars adding a note of intrigue to the story. In a later statement, designed perhaps to deflect mounting criticism of his client's apparent self interest, Mr Anderson said the bulk of the money received from the "Sixty Minutes" interview would be donated back to search and rescue teams.
It became clear though that, by now, what had began as happy news story had morphed into something far more darker. Rival media organizations to Channel Nine now appeared to be driven by a desire to wreck the "feel good" story. The Murdoch press's The Australian was dismissive of the Channel Nine coup, questioning why the news organisation would pay so much for someone who's story appeared to revolve around being "stupid."
Overseas the British coverage had also swung around. The tabloid Sun - owned by the same Murdoch News Corp - continued a drum roll of critical coverage including regular quotes from SAS experts who question whether anyone could have survived the conditions for 12 days.
Over one week later, Mr Neale has completed his interview with "Sixty Minutes" in which he admitted he had been "an idiot;" the story has left the front pages of the national and international media and the town of Katoomba has been removed from the national consciousness until the next newsworthy story. However with the deal with media agent Sean Anderson still firmly in the Jamie Neale backpack, don't be surprised if there are more twists and turns in the British press on this bizarre tale.
Film, best-selling book, survival recipe guide anyone?
View Larger Map
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My heart and prayers go out to the Iredale family. This story had to have opened already very raw wounds of losing their son David. I cry thinking about such pain. Can I have your permission to post this story and your blog link to my blog? See:
ReplyDeletehttp://toosad4words.blogspot.com/2009/04/david-iredale-and-tragedy-of-it-all-in.html
Thank you for sharing this story. I live in a different hemisphere but these stories affected me greatly. I had concerns about Mr Neale's story....
Very very unfortunate and heartless to pull such a prank if that's what happened. The Iredale's have endured enough pain for a lifetime.
Dear Peggy,
ReplyDeleteYou have my permission to post this story. I hope it helps you find those answers you seek.
Best
Rich