Mystery surrounds the 23-year-old backpacker from Queensland who was reported missing on 30 May after failing to arrive home in Australia on his flight on 2 June.
The Australian High Commission notified the family of Riley Commins on 6 June that he was in a hospital in London, had been there since 1 June, and was ok.
Before going missing, Commins was last known to be in London after a 5-week Contiki tour and a trip to Iceland with family and friends.
According to his sister Natalie, Commins’s bank account was last accessed on 30 May 30 at a cash point at a hotel near Heathrow Airport. It was not clear who had actually used the bank card.
“We think it was Riley who withdrew 65 pounds, which was declined due to insufficient funds at Heathrow Yotel ATM, but we have not had this confirmed by any footage,” she told the ABC.
After he failed to turn up at the airport in Australia, Commins’s family notified authorities, including London Police, DFAT and Interpol, and launched a social media campaign to find him. Commins’s father flew to London as part of the desperate search which thankfully came to a happy end.
On Monday, Commins himself posted his own thank you message on Facebook.
“I appreciate everyone concern am all well and good! I had no access to my phone or any devices to reach people, sorry!” he posted.
The family are relieved to have found Riley but are bemused as to why it took five days for anyone to be notified of his hospitalisation.
“We would like to thank the community for helping us find him. Hopefully he will be back in Australia soon,” Natalie Commins said.
“We will celebrate first and then we will look into the reasons behind the delay.”
IMAGE: Australian backpacker Riley Commins was found in a London hospital after going missing for 5 days. (Via Facebook)