Missing man found alive in desert by Indigenous group, days after police called off search
Members of the local South Sudanese community, led by the African Association of Central Australia, continued the search for Gach Top after police suspended efforts five days into their search.
Roughly 30 young men and women, mobilised by association chair Chuol Yat, combed 10 kilometres of terrain for up to five hours on Monday with the hope that Top was still alive.
'The community search was a result of the police decision to suspend the search after five days … the community still had hope that Gach would be found alive,' he said.
Loading
After hours of searching, Top was eventually found by a local Indigenous community, who notified his family.
'He was wrapped in a blanket and was exhausted,' Yat said. 'The family, including the community, are overjoyed because many of us felt that this young man was not dead. He was found alive, and everybody was so happy.'
Top had been missing since late afternoon on Monday, July 28, and was last seen wearing a red or orange puffer jacket, cream-coloured tracksuit pants, and dark-coloured runners.
NT Police said the alarm was raised after 'he failed to attend work for a rostered shift that night … Gach was driving his red Mazda CX5, which was located [that Monday] morning by police'.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Advertiser
a day ago
- The Advertiser
Outback Wrangler star 'tampered with helicopter dash'
Reality TV star Matt Wright tampered with the dashboard of a helicopter after a fatal crash and falsely reported its fuel tank level, a jury has heard. The Outback Wrangler star's trial began on Wednesday, more than three years after Wright's mate and co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson died in the outback chopper crash that left pilot Sebastian Robinson a paraplegic. Wright has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice following the February 2022 incident in the Northern Territory. The trial got underway in the Supreme Court in Darwin with crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC outlining his case to the jury. None of the charges related to the cause of the crash and it was not alleged Wright was responsible for it, the death of Mr Wilson or Mr Robinson's injuries, Mr Gullaci said. The Crown case was Wright did not properly record helicopter flying hours and was concerned that crash investigations would uncover that, leading to charges against him and his companies. The jurors were told part of the evidence would be covertly recorded conversations of Wright and others at his home and on his phone, using listening devices. Mr Wilson died doing something "incredibly brave", dangling from a helicopter to collect crocodile eggs along the King River in Arnhem Land, Mr Gullaci said. He and Mr Robinson were working for Wright to lawfully collect the eggs for sale to crocodile farms. On the day of the crash, Wright was aware there would be investigations by aviation safety authorities and NT Police, leading to possible charges, Mr Gullaci said. Wright was the chief pilot, CEO and head of flight operations at his company Helibrook, Mr Gullaci said. As holder of an air operating certificate he was required to abide by all Australian civil aviation regulations to ensure safe operations. The Robinson R44 helicopter had a maximum flying-hour threshold of 2200 hours, at which time an operator had to decide to retire the aircraft or give it an overhaul costing more than $400,000. The case was about Wright engaging in practices to not properly record flying hours, including evidence that Hobbs flight-time recording meters were deliberately disconnected, Mr Gullaci said. "If you don't properly record service hours, you put off the maintenance and service requirements. It's a way of extending the life of the aircraft." That meant the 2200-hour limit could be passed by hundreds of hours and that affected airworthiness, Mr Gullaci said. The prosecution case was Wright was aware his pilots routinely disconnected Hobbs meters and did not accurately record their flying hours in log books - to make sure the meters and log books matched. The jury was told they would hear covertly recorded conversations between Wright and his wife Kaia in which he said: "I don't write shit down ... I will be guilty of not keeping my paperwork up to speed." They would also hear from pilots that Wright regularly asked them not to record flying hours in their log books. Investigations concluded the crashed helicopter was likely over its 2200 hours and its Hobbs meter was not working, Mr Gullaci said. "The rules are it shouldn't have been flying." Wright immediately choppered to the crash site on the day and "played around with the dash", the Crown alleging he was trying to see if the Hobbs meter was disconnected," Mr Gullaci said. "From the outset he attempts to cover up previous rule-breaking." Wright said in a statutory declaration to police he had seen about half a tank of fuel in the crashed chopper. But covert recording of Mr Wright showed he did not believe that, saying on the phone, "I didn't see any f***ing fuel in the tank - zero", Mr Gullaci told the jury. Wright made the statutory declaration with intent to obstruct investigations and avoid suggestions the aircraft operated without adequate fuel or there was a fuel line problem, the prosecutor said. Reality TV star Matt Wright tampered with the dashboard of a helicopter after a fatal crash and falsely reported its fuel tank level, a jury has heard. The Outback Wrangler star's trial began on Wednesday, more than three years after Wright's mate and co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson died in the outback chopper crash that left pilot Sebastian Robinson a paraplegic. Wright has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice following the February 2022 incident in the Northern Territory. The trial got underway in the Supreme Court in Darwin with crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC outlining his case to the jury. None of the charges related to the cause of the crash and it was not alleged Wright was responsible for it, the death of Mr Wilson or Mr Robinson's injuries, Mr Gullaci said. The Crown case was Wright did not properly record helicopter flying hours and was concerned that crash investigations would uncover that, leading to charges against him and his companies. The jurors were told part of the evidence would be covertly recorded conversations of Wright and others at his home and on his phone, using listening devices. Mr Wilson died doing something "incredibly brave", dangling from a helicopter to collect crocodile eggs along the King River in Arnhem Land, Mr Gullaci said. He and Mr Robinson were working for Wright to lawfully collect the eggs for sale to crocodile farms. On the day of the crash, Wright was aware there would be investigations by aviation safety authorities and NT Police, leading to possible charges, Mr Gullaci said. Wright was the chief pilot, CEO and head of flight operations at his company Helibrook, Mr Gullaci said. As holder of an air operating certificate he was required to abide by all Australian civil aviation regulations to ensure safe operations. The Robinson R44 helicopter had a maximum flying-hour threshold of 2200 hours, at which time an operator had to decide to retire the aircraft or give it an overhaul costing more than $400,000. The case was about Wright engaging in practices to not properly record flying hours, including evidence that Hobbs flight-time recording meters were deliberately disconnected, Mr Gullaci said. "If you don't properly record service hours, you put off the maintenance and service requirements. It's a way of extending the life of the aircraft." That meant the 2200-hour limit could be passed by hundreds of hours and that affected airworthiness, Mr Gullaci said. The prosecution case was Wright was aware his pilots routinely disconnected Hobbs meters and did not accurately record their flying hours in log books - to make sure the meters and log books matched. The jury was told they would hear covertly recorded conversations between Wright and his wife Kaia in which he said: "I don't write shit down ... I will be guilty of not keeping my paperwork up to speed." They would also hear from pilots that Wright regularly asked them not to record flying hours in their log books. Investigations concluded the crashed helicopter was likely over its 2200 hours and its Hobbs meter was not working, Mr Gullaci said. "The rules are it shouldn't have been flying." Wright immediately choppered to the crash site on the day and "played around with the dash", the Crown alleging he was trying to see if the Hobbs meter was disconnected," Mr Gullaci said. "From the outset he attempts to cover up previous rule-breaking." Wright said in a statutory declaration to police he had seen about half a tank of fuel in the crashed chopper. But covert recording of Mr Wright showed he did not believe that, saying on the phone, "I didn't see any f***ing fuel in the tank - zero", Mr Gullaci told the jury. Wright made the statutory declaration with intent to obstruct investigations and avoid suggestions the aircraft operated without adequate fuel or there was a fuel line problem, the prosecutor said. Reality TV star Matt Wright tampered with the dashboard of a helicopter after a fatal crash and falsely reported its fuel tank level, a jury has heard. The Outback Wrangler star's trial began on Wednesday, more than three years after Wright's mate and co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson died in the outback chopper crash that left pilot Sebastian Robinson a paraplegic. Wright has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice following the February 2022 incident in the Northern Territory. The trial got underway in the Supreme Court in Darwin with crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC outlining his case to the jury. None of the charges related to the cause of the crash and it was not alleged Wright was responsible for it, the death of Mr Wilson or Mr Robinson's injuries, Mr Gullaci said. The Crown case was Wright did not properly record helicopter flying hours and was concerned that crash investigations would uncover that, leading to charges against him and his companies. The jurors were told part of the evidence would be covertly recorded conversations of Wright and others at his home and on his phone, using listening devices. Mr Wilson died doing something "incredibly brave", dangling from a helicopter to collect crocodile eggs along the King River in Arnhem Land, Mr Gullaci said. He and Mr Robinson were working for Wright to lawfully collect the eggs for sale to crocodile farms. On the day of the crash, Wright was aware there would be investigations by aviation safety authorities and NT Police, leading to possible charges, Mr Gullaci said. Wright was the chief pilot, CEO and head of flight operations at his company Helibrook, Mr Gullaci said. As holder of an air operating certificate he was required to abide by all Australian civil aviation regulations to ensure safe operations. The Robinson R44 helicopter had a maximum flying-hour threshold of 2200 hours, at which time an operator had to decide to retire the aircraft or give it an overhaul costing more than $400,000. The case was about Wright engaging in practices to not properly record flying hours, including evidence that Hobbs flight-time recording meters were deliberately disconnected, Mr Gullaci said. "If you don't properly record service hours, you put off the maintenance and service requirements. It's a way of extending the life of the aircraft." That meant the 2200-hour limit could be passed by hundreds of hours and that affected airworthiness, Mr Gullaci said. The prosecution case was Wright was aware his pilots routinely disconnected Hobbs meters and did not accurately record their flying hours in log books - to make sure the meters and log books matched. The jury was told they would hear covertly recorded conversations between Wright and his wife Kaia in which he said: "I don't write shit down ... I will be guilty of not keeping my paperwork up to speed." They would also hear from pilots that Wright regularly asked them not to record flying hours in their log books. Investigations concluded the crashed helicopter was likely over its 2200 hours and its Hobbs meter was not working, Mr Gullaci said. "The rules are it shouldn't have been flying." Wright immediately choppered to the crash site on the day and "played around with the dash", the Crown alleging he was trying to see if the Hobbs meter was disconnected," Mr Gullaci said. "From the outset he attempts to cover up previous rule-breaking." Wright said in a statutory declaration to police he had seen about half a tank of fuel in the crashed chopper. But covert recording of Mr Wright showed he did not believe that, saying on the phone, "I didn't see any f***ing fuel in the tank - zero", Mr Gullaci told the jury. Wright made the statutory declaration with intent to obstruct investigations and avoid suggestions the aircraft operated without adequate fuel or there was a fuel line problem, the prosecutor said. Reality TV star Matt Wright tampered with the dashboard of a helicopter after a fatal crash and falsely reported its fuel tank level, a jury has heard. The Outback Wrangler star's trial began on Wednesday, more than three years after Wright's mate and co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson died in the outback chopper crash that left pilot Sebastian Robinson a paraplegic. Wright has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice following the February 2022 incident in the Northern Territory. The trial got underway in the Supreme Court in Darwin with crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC outlining his case to the jury. None of the charges related to the cause of the crash and it was not alleged Wright was responsible for it, the death of Mr Wilson or Mr Robinson's injuries, Mr Gullaci said. The Crown case was Wright did not properly record helicopter flying hours and was concerned that crash investigations would uncover that, leading to charges against him and his companies. The jurors were told part of the evidence would be covertly recorded conversations of Wright and others at his home and on his phone, using listening devices. Mr Wilson died doing something "incredibly brave", dangling from a helicopter to collect crocodile eggs along the King River in Arnhem Land, Mr Gullaci said. He and Mr Robinson were working for Wright to lawfully collect the eggs for sale to crocodile farms. On the day of the crash, Wright was aware there would be investigations by aviation safety authorities and NT Police, leading to possible charges, Mr Gullaci said. Wright was the chief pilot, CEO and head of flight operations at his company Helibrook, Mr Gullaci said. As holder of an air operating certificate he was required to abide by all Australian civil aviation regulations to ensure safe operations. The Robinson R44 helicopter had a maximum flying-hour threshold of 2200 hours, at which time an operator had to decide to retire the aircraft or give it an overhaul costing more than $400,000. The case was about Wright engaging in practices to not properly record flying hours, including evidence that Hobbs flight-time recording meters were deliberately disconnected, Mr Gullaci said. "If you don't properly record service hours, you put off the maintenance and service requirements. It's a way of extending the life of the aircraft." That meant the 2200-hour limit could be passed by hundreds of hours and that affected airworthiness, Mr Gullaci said. The prosecution case was Wright was aware his pilots routinely disconnected Hobbs meters and did not accurately record their flying hours in log books - to make sure the meters and log books matched. The jury was told they would hear covertly recorded conversations between Wright and his wife Kaia in which he said: "I don't write shit down ... I will be guilty of not keeping my paperwork up to speed." They would also hear from pilots that Wright regularly asked them not to record flying hours in their log books. Investigations concluded the crashed helicopter was likely over its 2200 hours and its Hobbs meter was not working, Mr Gullaci said. "The rules are it shouldn't have been flying." Wright immediately choppered to the crash site on the day and "played around with the dash", the Crown alleging he was trying to see if the Hobbs meter was disconnected," Mr Gullaci said. "From the outset he attempts to cover up previous rule-breaking." Wright said in a statutory declaration to police he had seen about half a tank of fuel in the crashed chopper. But covert recording of Mr Wright showed he did not believe that, saying on the phone, "I didn't see any f***ing fuel in the tank - zero", Mr Gullaci told the jury. Wright made the statutory declaration with intent to obstruct investigations and avoid suggestions the aircraft operated without adequate fuel or there was a fuel line problem, the prosecutor said.
SBS Australia
2 days ago
- SBS Australia
Missing man Gach Top found alive and well near Alice Springs after a week missing in the outback
Missing man Gach Top found alive and well near Alice Springs after a week missing in the outback Published 5 August 2025, 8:13 am A 26-year-old South Sudanese man has been found alive near Alice Springs after disappearing more than a week ago. His family say its a "miracle" after Gach Top was spotted by local Arrernte people living at an outstation 40 kilometres from Alice Springs. Police had suspended its official search days ago but the community say they never gave up hope.
7NEWS
2 days ago
- 7NEWS
'Miracle': man missing in outback for week found safe
The discovery of a father who had been lost in the outback for a week has been hailed as a 'miracle' by his family. Gach Top, 26, has been found dehydrated but safe in the Northern Territory, two days after a major search and rescue operation was called off. His family never gave up, continuing to look for the father before he was eventually located about 45 kilometres west of Alice Springs on Monday night. Police said he had been taken to hospital for assessment, thanking the public for their assistance. Top disappeared near his hometown of Alice Springs on July 28. His car was found at nearby John Flynn's Grave Historical Reserve the next day, sparking concerns for his welfare. A massive search operation was launched, including ATVs, drones and aerial support covering more than 500 square kilometres of terrain. Police suspended the search on Saturday following five days of scouring the area west of Alice Springs. However, Top's family members and local volunteers continued to look before the young father was reportedly spotted walking barefoot near Jay Creek outstation by the Aboriginal homeland's residents on Monday night. Police said Top was found safe near Jay Creek about 45km from Alice Springs, close to where items of his clothing had been found earlier. Tamara Campbell, who lives at the outstation, told ABC she noticed a 'figure walking towards the bush' late on Monday. Top's family had kept in contact with the outstation during their search. 'I left my number with one of the ladies ... and when we were going back to (Alice Springs) she called me as soon as we got service,' Top's sister, Nyaluak, told ABC. 'She was like 'I found your brother' ... it's a miracle.' Top's father, David Kong, on Tuesday said his son had been found 'well and good' and was now in hospital. 'He's all right ... it's good news for the whole community,' he told NT News. The search and rescue operation at its peak involved more than 50 emergency services personnel and rangers. They searched on foot, in vehicles and with police dogs and drones along with a helicopter and a jet aircraft deployed by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, police said.
