Captured: Deb, Romanee and Chelsea.
In one of the tensest finales of Hunted to-date, just two teams remained in the race to make it to the extraction point of Gem Pier in Williamstown. With the clock ticking down, the Hunters were hungrier than ever for a ‘clean sweep’, capturing every Fugitive left before time ran out.
With the Hunters already circling Chelsea and Romanee’s last known location, it was Andy who became the sole Fugitive to make it onto the extraction boat, diving into the water to avoid capture and winning the $51,500 he had stashed in his backpack.
Andy said: “I was disappointed that I wasn’t on the boat with Deb because we really hoped to be there together, but it was a huge relief that, as a team, we had done it. We put so much effort in and had such a great time.”
During their time on the run, Andy and Deb managed to stay off the Hunters’ radar until just three days before extraction, when CCTV footage of them getting into a vehicle was seen by Hunted HQ. Andy and Deb were meticulous in their planning, moving every 24 hours, routinely swapping vehicles, and relying on the kindness of strangers to make it more difficult to track their movements.
Deb said: “We were mind blown that these people didn’t know us, but they gave up their time, resources, money… it was such a surprise to us how much people were willing to put themselves out there. At the end, we really wanted to win for ourselves, but we also wanted to win for the people who had been part of the team and helped us get to the end.”
As time began to tick down, Andy and Deb’s signature attention to detail saw them planning out their dash to extraction down to the second, but the Hunters had already spotted the extraction vehicle – a boat – on its approach to Gem Pier. With Ground Hunters on the way, it was a gut-wrenching race to the finish with just minutes to go.
Arriving at the pier, Andy and Deb were greeted by Hunters Kim and Howie, who successfully captured Deb in the final minutes of the run. But Andy was too quick, diving into the water and swimming against the ticking clock to make it on the boat.
With just seconds to go until the boat took off, Andy wrenched himself onto the vehicle, blowing a kiss to his wife as she watched her husband speed off to safety with their winning cash in-hand.
Andy said: “Once you come home, you just go straight back into your normal life of work, kids and you sort of forget about it, so it’s been awesome re-living it. Deb put herself outside her normal comfort zone going on Hunted and I think it has really expanded her horizons as a person, putting herself in uncomfortable situations and I think she’s grown heaps through the process.”
Deb said: “We definitely learned a few life lessons and are so, so happy we did it. Absolutely one of the best experiences of our lives, 100 percent.”
Hunted.
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