After four cold nights lost in harsh bushland, young Luke Shambrook walked out and gave his father a thumbs up.
The 11-year-old autistic boy is clearly "one courageous, strong, determined young man", Victoria Police Acting Commander Rick Nugent told reporters on Tuesday.
Many others might not have survived being lost in the thick bush at Victoria's Lake Eildon National Park, he said.
"Four days, four nights in this terrain, it really is a miracle that he's alive and well," Acting Cmdr Nugent said.
His speech is limited, so his full ordeal may never be known.
He was spotted by a police helicopter just before noon on Tuesday walking three kilometres from the campsite where he was last seen on Good Friday.
Police Air Wing Acting Sergeant Brad Pascoe has described the moment he saw "a little flash of something" amid the scrub and realised it might be the lost boy.
"It wasn't much but it was enough to make me get the guys to turn the aircraft around, and go back and have a further look," Sgt Pascoe said in a video released by Victoria Police.
They saw Luke and were "absolutely over the moon".
"All of us in the crew are parents ourselves, and we can only imagine what the parents of Luke have been going through," he said.
The helicopter guided a rescue team to the spot where they found Luke with a few scratches, hypothermia and dehydration.
"When the rescue team met up with him, he was in high spirits and was walked out of the bush on his own two feet," a message on the Luke Shambrook support page on Facebook says.
"He gave Tim (his father) a big thumbs up when they saw each other. The family are very happy to be reunited."
Everyone was overjoyed Luke had been found, Acting Cmdr Nugent said.
"Too often we see tragedy ... but to be able to give his parents the news that he's well and he's alive and he's been found three kilometres from where he went missing four days ago, is amazing," he said.
Luke wasn't able to communicate with his rescuers but accepted some water and pieces of bread roll.
He will be checked over at the Royal Children's Hospital before he goes home.
The police dog squad, air wing and mounted branch, emergency services, campers and 60 people from nearby towns took part in the search in often cold, wet and cloudy conditions.
His family had warned searchers it was possible Luke did not know he was lost because of his autism.
On Monday his beanie was found, renewing hopes he would be found alive because it indicated he had walked away from water.
It was the only item of clothing he had lost during his ordeal.
Acting Cmdr Nugent said motorbike crews were within 300m of Luke when the airwing spotted him.
The Shambrook family passed on their appreciation to those who took part in the search and sent messages of support.
