By Allanah Sciberras

A teenager has shared an emotional reunion with his mother after being found alive following almost a week lost in dense bushland.

Police AirWing found William, 17, whose surname has not been shared, laying down in a creek near Walhalla, 185km east of Melbourne, in Victoria’s east on Thursday morning.

Rescue teams had been zooming up on a tacklebox in the bushland when they spotted the 17-year-old.

He was first reported missing after straying from his camp near Walhalla, last Friday.

Officers were winched down to the site after spotting the teen, before bringing him back to reunite him with his mother, Elizabeth.

Vision captured the moment his mother first saw her son who was sitting inside the police helicopter, in shorts and workboots.

He appears to smile before embracing his mother in a warm hug, as officers look on.

“I am over the moon. He’s alive,” she told reporters at the scene.

“He is never leaving the house again. He is not going anywhere.”

William was taken to hospital for monitoring.

The teenager had been dropped off by his mother for the weekend to camp with his friend on Friday.

It is believed he walked a short distance back to the drop-off location to retrieve further camping equipment.

When William failed to return shortly after, his stepbrother searched the area but found no trace of the teen.

He was wearing only shorts and work boots when he went missing, with a mobile phone, food and water left behind.