A GERMAN backpacker missing for nearly two weeks in the remote Australian outback has been found alive.
Carolina Wilga, 26, was discovered walking along a bush track on the edge of Karroun Hill nature reserve on Friday afternoon.
7NEWSGerman backpacker Carolina Wilga has been found alive and airlifted to hospital on Friday[/caption]
AFPThe 26-year-old had been last seen at a general store on June 29[/caption]
Facebook/@ExtremeCouponingAndBargainsUKHer Mitsubishi Delica van was found abandoned on Thursday[/caption]
She was found less than 24 hours after cops found her bogged van abandoned in inhospitable terrain.
She was picked up by a member of the public and taken to Beacon before being airlifted to Perth for urgent medical treatment.
WA police’s Martin Glynn told reporters on Friday: “As you can imagine, from the trauma she suffered for the last few days, she’s been obviously through a great deal.
“She does have some injuries. She’s been ravaged by mosquitoes.
“She’s obviously been through an amazing journey, a trauma no doubt will be a testimony to demonstrating her bravery in those circumstances out there.”
Authorities believe Carolina made multiple desperate attempts to free her vehicle before setting out on foot to escape the harsh, rocky wilderness.
Police described her survival as “remarkable” given temperatures in the area had plummeted to 0C overnight.
Aussie cops were desperately searching for the missing backpacker after her van was found abandoned following a haunting final message to a friend.
Carolina had not been seen or heard from since June 29, when she was spotted at a general store in Beacon, 186 miles north-east of Perth.
The 26-year-old German was then seen driving away in her black and silver Mitsubishi Delica van.
Police believed Carolina had become disoriented and walked into bushland after her vehicle broke down in the Karroun Hill area in Western Australia’s outback.
The region is said to be an unforgiving expanse, described by authorities as remote, rocky and inhospitable.
Acting Inspector Jessica Securo confirmed the van was found Thursday at least 21 miles from any main track.
She told ABC News earlier on Friday: “The terrain is outback country and there are large, rocky outcrops.
“So although there’s a number of tracks, you can see how it would be easy to become lost or disorientated in that area if you didn’t know it well.”
Broken down van
Authorities said Carolina’s van appeared to have suffered mechanical issues and was bogged, The Guardian reported.
WA police’s Martin Glynn previously said: “The police air wing officers were able to identify that the vehicle was bogged and was subject to extensive efforts by her to recover the vehicle.
“She’d used Maxtrax and pieces of wood to try to free the vehicle from its location, but unfortunately was unsuccessful.”
Cops did not believe foul play was involved, and focused search efforts around the van’s location.
They launched what they called a “reflex search” within 300 metres of the vehicle and aerial sweeps of the wider area due to the difficult terrain.
“The search has resumed in that Karroun Hill area,” Securo said.
“It will be concentrating around her vehicle and tracks that offshoot that area.
“Our aerial support is our best chances of finding her.”
Forensic teams combed through the Mitsubishi vehicle to determine what the backpacker may have taken with her – and what might have let her to abandon it.
Securo earlier told Sky News Australia: ”Part of my team at Major Crime division will go through the vehicle and meticulously cover what was in the vehicle, what we believe is outstanding. And that may help to direct our search in a certain area.”
12 days missing
Carolina had been backpacking across Australia for two years and recently worked at mine sites in regional WA.
Her last known communication were text and voice messages sent to a friend in the early hours of June 29.
At 7am, Carolina texted her friend, who had been in communication with her the day she was spotted departing the Sundance Backpackers hostel in Freemantle.
In the text, the German reportedly said she wouldn’t be able to drop off a book and a jerry can because she had “some stuff she needed to handle.”
AFPCarolina had been backpacking across Australia for two years[/caption]
Carolina was spotted wearing a long beige jumper and light blue jeans before she went missingWestern Australia Police Force
AFPCarolina pictured in the van outside a general store in the small agricultural community of Beacon[/caption]
She was then spotted at a local store in the tiny town of Beacon on June 29 at around 12.10pm.
Later that day, at 4.28pm, CCTV captured her at a Toodyay petrol station, Sky News Australia reports.
Ten minutes later, at 4.38pm, she reportedly sent a chilling voice message to her friend, in which she could be heard saying: ”I just couldn’t wait anymore. Ugh. I felt tired”.
Police believed Carolina continued driving east to Wialki, but after June 30, all contact with friends and family ceased.
Her 12-day disappearance triggered a full-scale operation involving police, State Emergency Services and Department of Fire and Emergency Services.
The van — equipped with solar panels and water — was found Thursday, but there was no sign of the then-missing woman.
A Facebook page titled ‘Help Find Carolina Wilga’ was launched to assist the search as WA Police issued an urgent nationwide appeal for information.
APPolice officers gathered in Beacon, Western Australia on Friday as they prepared to search for the then-missing German backpacker[/caption]
APPolice wait by a helicopter in Beacon, Western Australia, on Friday[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
