'I'm so sorry... and I'm really hungry': Missing Sydney teen Cassie Olczak's first words after being found
After spending five days living in the bush, missing Sydney teenager Cassie Olczak first words after being found have been revealed, while her mother has described her rescue as a "miracle".
When rescuers found Cassie this morning, Daily Mail Australia report that she said: "I'm so sorry... and I'm really hungry."
A passing motorist spotted Cassie walking alone on a highway north of Wollongong after she disappeared almost a week ago.
The 16-year-old teen is now "safe and well" after the driver saw her walking by the Princes Highway in Waterfall just before 9am and contacted police.
Cassie's mother Connie said she was "grateful" her daughter had been found and thanked the search teams for their efforts during the past week.
"I just want the medical team to look after her ... She's been out for a long time," she said.
"It's just a miracle and I don't even know what to say. I'm just grateful that they've found her."
She said it was "very bizarre" and out of character for her daughter to disappear as she had.
The teen vanished on September 25 after she became separated from a friend and boarded a train at Banskia, in Sydney's south, at 6.58pm that evening.
Police released CCTV which showed walking Miss Olczak alone at the remote Waterfall Train Station, in the Sutherland Shire, 40 minutes later.
Her disappearance sparked a search in a nearby national park on Wednesday which involved helicopters and the dog squad.
Miss Olczak was said to be in an "emotional state" on Saturday, which was the day after she had arrived home from a trip to see her father in Abu Dhabi, The Daily Telegraph reported.
The teen had reportedly also been “behaving bizarrely” when she left the house on Sunday morning to see her friends in Earlwood.
She had spoken to her family and friends about the idea of self-harm after returning home from her trip, a police source told the newspaper.
A rail commuter had reported seeing Miss Olczak “glazed and dazed”.
Her mother, Connie Olczak, made several pleas for information on her daughter's disappearance and claimed her actions were out of character.
Ms Olczak earlier said her daughter may have been given a "substance" that may have left her disorientated.
"My gut tells me she's alive, I need help, I'm running out of time," she told reporters.
Ms Olczak had handed out flyers to commuters during the search.
