Missing explorer Benedict Allen found
What happened to famed explorer Benedict Allen? Watch the latest revelations in the video.
Famed explorer Benedict Allen has been rescued from Papau New Guinea where he was working on a documentary about a lost tribe of indigenous headhunters when he went missing for days.
Allen, 57, had become feverish and disoriented with what was suspected to be malaria, the BBC reports. He was looked after by Christian missionaries during his trek, the report said.
Allen had been working on the doc for the network when he failed to show up for a planned rendezvous, sparking fears for his safety.
Allen was helicoptered to the Papau New Guinea capital of Port Moseby and was expected back in England on Sunday, the report said.
"Benedict looks forward to being reunited with his family and friends but will need some time to get back to full health," his agent said in a statement. "He would like to send thanks for all the kind messages he has received."
"Benedict looks forward to being reunited with his family and friends but will need some time to get back to full health"
Allen set out alone in the jungle three weeks ago to make a documentary with neither a satellite phone nor a GPS in an effort to find a tribe of indigenous people he’d discovered roughly 30 years ago.
The explorer’s family was fearing the worst after he missed his pick up out of the jungle, and he missed a flight to Hong Kong to deliver a speech at the Royal Geographical Society on Tuesday.
“He never caught the plane and that is very out of character for him really because he has it all organized,” his older sister Katie Pestille told The Daily Mail. “He was going with a local guide to a remote part of Papua New Guinea to try to track down this tribe that he had been with 20 or 30 years ago to reconnect with them. I have not heard from him in about three weeks and I was expecting something from him on Sunday or Monday and then I got an email from my sister-in-law yesterday saying he had not got on his flight.”
According to the Telegraph, Allen, a father of three, was attempting to track down the Yaifo tribe, one of the few left on earth not to have regular contact with the outside world.
"Last time, the Yaifo 'greeted' me with a terrifying show of strength, an energetic dance featuring their bows and arrows," he said in a September blog post outlining his plans. "On this occasion who knows if the Yaifo will do the same, or run off, or be wearing jeans and T shirts traded eons ago from the old mission station.”
Before setting off on his journey, Allen tweeted a message to the world suggesting they not worry about his whereabouts.
“Marching off to Heathrow. I may be some time (don’t try to rescue me, please — where I’m going in PNG you won’t ever find me you know…)"
Allen was spotted Thursday near an airstrip.
This isn’t the first time that Allen went missing in the wild.
The explorer, whose career spans six TV series for the BBC, was previously out of communication for three months. At one point, he even had to eat his own dog in order to survive.
Trending
Who's making headlines in television, music, movies and more from Hollywood to the Heartland.