After nearly two harrowing weeks lost in one of Australia’s most unforgiving landscapes, 26-year-old German backpacker Carolina Wilga has been found alive in what police described as a “fragile condition.”
The traveler was discovered Friday afternoon walking along a bush track near Karroun Hill Nature Reserve, more than 185 miles northeast of Perth.
The discovery brings some respite to the growing concern from both her family and authorities, and comes 12 days after Wilga was last seen thanks to a large-scale search operation that included homicide detectives and aerial surveillance.
Lost backpacker was found in fragile condition 12 days after vanishing in an arid Australian wasteland
Image credits: The Missing, M****red & Unsolved Crimes Of Australia.
Wilga, who had been living and working in Australia for around two years, left the city of Fremantle on June 28, telling friends she was heading on a regional trip to enroll in what’s speculated to have been a yoga teacher program at a coastal location.
However, she departed alone after her original travel companion withdrew from the plan. That same morning, she messaged a friend saying she wouldn’t be able to deliver a book and a jerry can as promised, cryptically noting she had “some stuff she needed to handle.”
Image credits: 9 News Australia
Later that day, CCTV footage showed Wilga at a petrol station in the western town of Toodyay at 4:28 pm. She filled her black and silver 1995 Mitsubishi Delica van with petrol, walked inside to pay, and by 4:41 pm, had driven off.
In a voice message sent to a friend at 4:38 pm, she was heard saying: “I just couldn’t wait anymore. Ugh. I felt tired.”
Image credits: 9 News Australia
The following day, June 29, she was seen at a general store in Beacon. Footage shows her peering into the store and wandering around before getting back to her van. She was dressed in ripped blue jeans and a cream jumper.
By June 30, her trace had completely disappeared. Police believe she drove to Wialki, a location 25 kilometers east of Beacon, but beyond that there were no clues. She was declared missing and homicide detectives joined the investigation.
Wilga’s vehicle suffered mechanical problems, which led her to abandon it and search for help on foot
Image credits: 9 News Australia
The decision to involve homicide detectives scared her family, but police explained that they had escalated the operation to be able to include the police air wing and multiple search crews across Western Australia’s vast Wheatbelt region.
“We are very concerned for her welfare,” Commissioner Col Blanch told local media last Wednesday (July 9). “This is unexplained behaviour, and we are taking it very seriously.”
Image credits: 9 News Australia
On Thursday (July 10), search teams located Wilga’s abandoned van at Karroun Hill, more than 50 kilometers north of Wialki. The Mitsubishi appeared to have suffered mechanical issues.
Photos released by police showed orange recovery boards placed under the back wheels, which served as an indication that Wilga had attempted to free the vehicle from mud or sand.
Still, she was nowhere to be found.
Image credits: ABC News (Australia)
“There is no indication that there’s any third party involvement,” said Sergeant Venn. “But our minds are open to any line of inquiry.”
It was 24 hours later, on Friday afternoon, that a member of the public discovered Wilga alive, walking along a bush track on the edge of the Karroun Hill Nature Reserve. She was promptly taken to Beacon, before being airlifted to Perth Hospital.
Besides being stung by mosquitoes, Wilga’s physical injuries were minor
Image credits: The Missing, M****red & Unsolved Crimes Of Australia.
Authorities described her condition as “fragile.” She had been “ravaged by mosquitoes,” but had only minor physical injuries aside from that.
According to WA Police Inspector Martin Glynn, her psychological wounds were far more severe than her physical ones.
“As you can imagine from the trauma she’s suffered for the last few days, she’s been obviously through a great deal,” she said.
Footage captured by local media showed Wilga for the first time since her disappearance, with her hair tied in a top knot, draped in an oversized jumper, and showing visible signs of exhaustion.
WA Police have since ruled out foul play, but the circumstances of Wilga’s disappearance remain under investigation.
“I think once we do hear her story, it will be a remarkable story,” Inspector Glynn added. “She coped in some amazing conditions. It’s a very hostile environment out there.”
Until Wilga is able to share her side of the story, unanswered questions about what exactly happened in those 12 days, and why she decided to set off on her own, remain.
For her family, what’s important is that she’s alive, and that she was able to survive despite being lost in a remote, arid region with limited resources.
“Thank goodness.” Netizens took to social media to celebrate Wilga being found
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