POLICE have confirmed missing Melbourne man Samuel Thomson has been found safe and well.

The 19-year-old, whose car was found abandoned near Swan Hill more than a week ago, made contact with police after arriving in Mount Gambier on Friday evening.

Mildura police Inspector Bec Olsen said Samuel’s family were “clearly relieved to speak with him”.

“Police across three states were working together to try to locate Sam and confirm that he was safe and well to provide reassurance to his family,” she said. 

Police had held grave fears for Samuel after he left his Lysterfield South home on February 10 to go camping, leaving a “cryptic” note inside a copy of the book Into the Wild that he was going off the grid.