After 18 ordinary Australians went on the run, Fugitives Rob and Stathi did the improbable in the finale of Hunted Australia and reached the extraction point, winning a share of $100,000, on 10 and 10 Play.
In the finale, the three remaining fugitives Jake, Rob and Stathi had to call a phone number to receive extraction details, learning it would be at 1pm the next day, at Inverloch Coastal Reserve. If they evaded the Hunters and made it there, they would win a share of $100,000, but their phone call would alert HQ of their whereabouts and how they accessed the information.
Stathi got a lift and headed towards Melbourne. Jake and Robert had previously decided they could double their odds by splitting up.
First to call the extraction number was Jake. Having persuaded a stranger to give him a lift, he used a payphone to make the call and fled back to the car, parked away from CCTV cameras.
Second to call was Stathi. He used a stranger’s smartphone to call the extraction line and booked a taxi, planning to travel for as long as he could afford.
Using his old burner phone, Robert was the last to call for extraction details.
Going over old leads, Hunter HQ guessed Robert may have gone back to friends Cordy and Lachy in Hawthorn. Little did they know, Jake was actually there, planning on getting a lift towards Inverloch. When Team Alpha knocked on the door, Jake bolted out the back, scaling fences and hiding nearby. A foot chase ensued, but Jake was no match for the Hunters, and was captured less than 24 hours before the extraction.
HQ came across intel pointing towards the Inverloch area as the extraction point, and Team Bravo was deployed into a helicopter. After they spotted another chopper, HQ felt certain that the beach was the extraction point, exiting via helicopter.
Rob scored a lift to Inverloch, as did Stathi, who chose to approach via coastal walk towards the extraction point, staying away from roads.
First to arrive at extraction was Robert, who boarded the helicopter, elated. Stathi made a run for it across the sand as Team Bravo hit the beach at the same time. It was a neck and neck foot race to the chopper, but Stathi managed to evade capture just in time, with the helicopter taking off with the inaugural winners of Hunted Australia, Stathi and Robert, aboard.
Emotional, both vowed to split the prize money with their teammates, Matt and Jake, with Stathi hoping to start his surrogacy journey.
Stathi, from Victoria said: “Matt and I went on the run to challenge some stereotypes, give more visibility to our queer community and help start new chapters in our lives. We’re so humbled by all the support and I will be forever grateful to Hunted for putting me one step closer to achieving my dream of being a dad. I truly hope that we have inspired others to embrace their authentic selves.”
Rob added: “Going into this my main objective was making it to the end with my best friend, someone who has supported all my crazy over the top ideas on the run and at home. Winning is proof that anything is possible, no matter the obstacle. In the famous words of my buddy Jake (not Jesus), ‘if you’re not first, you’re last’.”