A Canadian man has been found five years after he disappeared - wandering through the Amazon thousands of miles away.

Anton Pilipa went missing in 2012 while due to appear in court on assault charges, leaving his family fearing he was dead.

But half a decade later they got a phone call from a police officer in Brazil saying he had been found.

The activist is thought to have walked much of his journey to Brazil without shoes and also hitchhiked or hid in the back of trucks.

Anton - who is thought to have had a severe mental health condition - was picked up by police officer Helenice Vidigal who was determined to return him to his family.

He gave little information but said he was Canadian - giving her a vital clue to return him to his family.

But when she made contact with Anton's family he fled from hospital and disappeared deep into the Amazon jungle.

Officer Vidigal said: "That is the area where we talk about huge predators like crocodiles and jungle cats.

"We truly were afraid he could be eaten by one of those animals."

Anton was eventually found by police and placed in hospital again before his brother Stefan picked him up in late January.

He is now recovering well after being flown home to Toronto.

What happened in the five years he was missing remains a mystery.