A diabetic camper missing for nine days in remote Victorian bushland has told how he feared he would not survive the ordeal.

Troy Milne, 61, was rescued about 5pm yesterday near the town of Buchan in the east Gippsland region, when he lit a fire to alert searchers.

Today he arrived at Essendon Airport in outer Melbourne on his way for hospital treatment and spoke exclusively with 9News.

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"I thought I was a dead duck in water … I just drank lots of water," he said.

Milne lit the fire near the Kirby Cross Track and succeeded in drawing firefighters to the area.

They finally found him after spotting his Jeep Wrangler SUV close to the small blaze.

The vehicle had bottomed out on the terrain and was not drivable, prompting Milne to light a fire in the hope emergency services would respond.

He was taken to a local hospital for treatment and observation.

Milne went missing after leaving his campsite at Woodside Beach for a quick trip collect supplies last Tuesday.

It triggered an extensive nine-day search to try and find the insulin-dependent diabetic amid fears he had suffered a medical episode.

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Police said finding Milne alive was a remarkable result.

"We really feared the worst so to be able to contact Troy's family and give them the fantastic news was a wonderful result," Inspector Wayne Rothwell said.

"Troy was without his medication for a long period which left him disorientated and confused so we believe he turned off the highway at some point and became lost in the bush.

"It was a challenging search due to the huge area that Troy had been spotted travelling around so it was extremely difficult to narrow down where to concentrate our efforts.

"Once Troy lit the fire, it drew the attention of our fire crews who quickly responded and located him."

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Stephanie Grech was hard at work when a radio report of a fatal road rage incident caught her attention.

The police employee stopped to check the details of the vehicles involved.

"It's my baby brother, it's Rhyce," she recalls crying out after seeing details of her brother's ute.

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"I rang Mum on the phone … 'I think Rhyce is dead'."

Rhyce Harding was 27 when he was killed in an altercation on his drive to work in Sydney's outskirts in June 2024.

His distraught relatives relayed their grief to the young landscaper's killer, Bradley Wayne Wilkinson, on Friday during a sentence hearing in Downing Centre District Court.

Harding's ashes – brought into the court hearing by his brother Michael Grech – sat beside his four family members in the witness box as each spoke of the incident's lasting effects.

CCTV footage played in court showed Wilkinson cutting off Harding after exiting a roundabout in Blackett.

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A horn is heard, before Wilkinson refuses to allow Harding to merge and avoid a parked car.

The young landscaper then stepped out of his car to approach Wilkinson's window.

The Crown said Wilkinson, then 39, pinned the younger man to the outside of the car and drove past several houses before Harding fell under the wheels.

He died of his injuries.

Wilkinson left the area before turning himself in the next day.

"Rhyce would want me to forgive you, but I can't and I don't know that I ever will," Ms Grech said to Wilkinson, who appeared by video link.

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Harding's parents spoke in glowing terms of the compassion and generosity the avid kickboxer showed in his life and the high regard he was held by his friends, family and his gym mates.

"Rhyce was a much-loved member of our club, who will always be remembered for his kindness, humbleness and dedication to his training," his gym said at the time of his death.

The public gallery in the courtroom was filled with his loved ones in matching T-shirts with a design of his tattoo to commemorate him.

"As a parent, you don't ever think you're going to organise your own child's funeral," Rhyce's father, John Harding, said in court.

"Rhyce was the glue that held our mismatched family together."

Mary Harding recalled how her son would rise at 4.30 in the morning just to make her breakfast.

"There is not enough paper or ink that would fulfil the person he was," she said.

Wilkinson sat quietly while the statements were read out, occasionally wiping his eyes.

He reconfirmed on Friday his guilty pleas to Harding's manslaughter and failure to provide necessary assistance, first entered in April in the local court.

Wilkinson's barrister said there was no evidence his client intended to kill or cause grievous bodily harm to Harding.

Both sides were prevented from making further submissions because material such as a sentencing assessment report and evidence from a psychiatrist were outstanding from the court file.

The sentence hearing will continue on October 30.

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A man who allegedly tried to carjack four different shoppers during a terrifying rampage in a Victorian Bunnings car park has been arrested in a dramatic police swoop.

Moments before the alleged attempted carjackings, he allegedly drove a stolen car almost into a woman getting a pram out of her car in the Bunnings car park on the Princess Highway in Norlane, Geelong.

The drama began earlier when police spotted a stolen grey Haval on Dorcas and Moray streets in South Melbourne about 1.15pm.

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Upon seeing officers, a man and woman allegedly drove off in the car and officers began tracking the vehicle along the Princes Freeway towards Norlane.

It is alleged they then drove the car into the Bunnings car park and nearly collided with a woman getting a pram out of her car.

Police said the man got out of the stolen Haval and allegedly attempted to carjack four separate vehicles.

No members of the public were physically injured.

Police arrested the man about 2.45pm.

The woman was chased by police into the hardware store, where she was arrested shortly after.

The 20-year-old Abbotsford man was loaded into an ambulance and taken to hospital under police guard.

The 25-year-old Abbotsford woman will be interviewed by police.

It is alleged the Haval was stolen from the Port Melbourne area on October 6.

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A large area of outback heat that is set to increase over the weekend and days after could cause record high temperatures across three states.

Weatherzone reports that South Australia, Queensland, NSW, and the ACT could all break their heat records for October, with temperatures expected to reach the mid-40s.

Over the past week, Western Australia's north-west saw a large buildup of hot air that is now spreading across the country.

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The heat is causing warmer temperatures in outback areas earlier than usual.

Parts of Australia's south-east are also set to face a brief hit of premature heat later this weekend and into next week.

South Australia

There is a chance that South Australia's previous October heat record of 45.4 degrees at Oodnadatta could be broken, with temperatures of 43 degrees expected on Sunday and 45 degrees expected on Monday.

Queensland

Queensland's far south-west is expected to see five consecutive days of temperatures as high as 40 degrees starting today.

Sunday and Monday will be the hottest days with temperatures of 44 degrees and 45 degrees, respectively.

The state's October record currently sits at 45.1 degrees in Birdsville.

New South Wales

NSW's October temperature record is currently 43.9 degrees in the state's north-west.

Parts of the upper west are expected to reach 43 degrees on Tuesday.

After potential storms on Friday afternoon and evening, Sydney is set to have a cooler weekend with highs of 22 degrees before temperatures rise back up to 32 degrees by Monday and a potential 37 degrees on Wednesday.

Australian Capital Territory 

Despite the forecast not being extreme, Canberra is still expected to be hit with a heat surge early next week.

The capital could reach temperatures of 32 degrees on Monday and Tuesday, with the state's October temperature record sitting at 32.7 degrees.

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