Search resumes for teenager who went missing in shorts and boots

Police fear for teen missing near Alpine region wearing just shorts and bootsBy Bec SymonsABC GippslandTopic:Missing PersonPosted Mon 9 Nov 2026 at 9:06amMon 9 Nov 2026 at 9:06amPolice say William went missing near the historic gold mining town of Walhalla in Victoria's east. (Supplied: Victoria Police)In short:A 17-year-old boy from the Latrobe Valley is missing four days after getting lost while camping in Victoria's east.William had taken his shirt off due to warm weather on Friday afternoon.What's next?The search for the teenager has resumed this morning.A 17-year-old boy missing in Victoria's alpine region has likely spent the weekend in just shorts and boots as snow fell on nearby mountains overnight. William, whose surname has not been released by authorities, was camping with another teenager in Walhalla East, near Cowwarr, when he walked a short distance to another part of their camp near Stoney Creek Road and T2 Track, but failed to return.Victoria Police Superintendent Melanie Hamshere said the teenager had taken his shirt off in warm weather on Friday afternoon because he expected a 20-minute walk. "They'd gotten quite warm so he took his T-shirt off, as boys do, and he walked back up towards the location where he'd been dropped off to pick up some more stuff to bring down," she said. "So at the time he went missing he was only wearing shorts and boots."William went missing near Walhalla on Friday, November 6. (Supplied: Victoria Police)William had gone back to collect an esky, two pillows, a fishing tackle box and a brown tabletop and did not take his phone with him.The esky was found a short way up the track.Weekend snowA cold snap brought a late dusting of snow to some of Victoria's mountain ranges over the weekend. At Mount Baw Baw, about 45 minutes' drive north-east of Walhalla, overnight temperatures dropped to below zero degrees Celsius on Saturday and Sunday.On Sunday, William's mother Elizabeth Barclay told the ABC he was an inexperienced camper with a poor sense of direction in an unfamiliar area. Police have resumed the search for the teen today and have set up a staging area at Cowwarr Recreational Reserve.Authorities are hoping to speak with a bearded man and a woman who helped William's friend on Friday night. They were in an older white ute with a black canopy.The teenager flagged the car down when he began looking for William."We're appealing to the public to try and identify that couple," Superintendent Hamshere said.About 70 people searched for William on Sunday, supported by a police helicopter, water police and the dog squad.