The most incredible Douglas Shire tale that needs to be read, to be believed – A story of survival, coincidences and extraordinary Aussie spirit

So on July 5 he did just that and from there that was the end of the story – or so the Burchall family thought.

Amazingly, the next day, July 6, the same day as young Owen’s 14^th  birthday the  phone rung at the resort where his parents, Christine and Ben, both work.

A Sergeant said the boat’s owners had been located – all the way in, wait for it – Charters Towers, near Townsville.

But the tale doesn’t stop there – it was during that phone conversation that the family learned the story of how the boat eventually made its way to Wonga Beach.

The Sergeant proceeded to tell them that on June 6 around midday a couple in their 60s and the female’s sister were all enjoying a spot of boating and fishing off waters near Townsville.

Unbelievably as the weather turned bad, the boat capsized, leaving the trio fighting for their life in the water next to the boat, for the next 10 hours, in shark and crocodile infested waters.

In the meantime, if that wasn’t enough the husband, suffered a heart attack in the water, while trying to stay afloat to be rescued.

As sunset fell and nightfall set in, the outlook looked dim for the trio – until fate stepped in and would you believe a random torch came floating by next to their boat.

The elderly woman –  who fatefully had her birthday the same day quickly grabbed it and used the well known distress signal of turning it on and off in a blinking motion to attract a passing boat.

The desperate act worked, the trio were soon rescued by a passing boat in the right place at the right time and the 10-hour ordeal was over. However – there is one final chapter left of this you-can’t-make this-story-up-left to-tell.

At the time of the rescue it was of a low priority to locate the tinny.

Following the incident the pair made a missing boat report and searched high and dry on social media to find their beloved tinny.

The incredible conclusion

And that very boat has remained missing – until now.

Yep, the very boat the Wonga Beach teen reported to Police belonged to the dear old couple who fought for their life on June 6 – and lived to tell the tale.

The Sergeant told the Burchall’s it’s very normal for boats down the coast to float in a northerly direction and from there, on growing occasion, unmanned boats get trapped in the shipping channel up here in the Far North.

From the shipping channels they get spat out and at times find themselves washed up on local beaches – as what has happened on this occasion.

After learning of the find the elderly couple drove from Charters Towers up to Wonga Beach on July 14 to meet the young hero and collect their much-loved possession.

The pair were overwhelmed with emotion as they kindly gave the boy a card and financial reward for going to the trouble to report the boat missing.

Neither the boy, or the dear Charters Towers couple will ever forget this extraordinary tale of survival, amazing coincidences and the great Aussie spirit.

As for Owen, well, he’s just happy all turned out well.

“I would have loved to kept that boat because I’m a keen fisherman, but it was the right thing to do to notify the Police and let things go from there,” he told Newsport via telephone from Wonga Beach.

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• If this story didn't already have enough twists and turns, Newsport has now learned Xavier, pictured in the right of the main picture went through his own horror story a number of months back in Victoria before his trip to Wonga Beach. Xavier's Dad, Dave told us his young boy broke both of his arms on March 18 while bike riding and got both casts off just before his trip to the Far North.