Police revealed details of Carolina Wilga's survival after nearly two weeks missing in Western Australia's outback. Photo / WA Police via NewsWire
Police have revealed more details surrounding the miraculous survival of a German backpacker who spent almost two weeks missing in Western Australia’s harsh outback wilderness.
Grim fears were held for the safety of Carolina Wilga after she disappeared on June 29, before her abandoned van was found 35km off-track in dense bushland.
After 12 hellish days lost in the outback, a weak and severely dehydrated Wilga was found limping along the roadside in Karroun Hill Reserve, more than 300km northeast of Perth in the state’s Wheatbelt region.
WA Police Detective Acting Inspector Jessica Securo today revealed Wilga was 20km from the nearest walking track when she managed to flag down a driver in the area.
“She was very distressed, obviously exhausted, dehydrated, needed some food … but overall just relieved that she had come across someone and was able to get that help,” Inspector Securo told Weekend Today.
“She actually flagged down a passing motorist, which was extremely lucky.
“We’re extremely grateful to that member of the community who helped us.”
Inspector Securo said the region was comprised of many challenging terrains and appeared quite isolated.
Photos of the rescue show Wilga arriving in Beacon, stepping out of a police vehicle and boarding a plane bound for Perth to receive medical care.
Inspector Securo revealed Wilga’s van had mechanical failures and the backpacker became lost after leaving the vehicle attempting to seek help.
“Our advice would be if you do come to be in one of those positions, stay with your vehicle, our searchers are able to find a vehicle far easier than finding a person,” she said.
WA Police last night confirmed Wilga had been located “safe and well” after the van she was travelling in became bogged.
Wilga survived sub-zero temperatures during the ordeal and was found with just one shoe.
Inspector Martin Glynn said the 26-year-old had been
“located walking on a bushtrack on the edge of the reserve from which she was missing and she’s been recovered by a member of the public – which was fantastic”.
“Obviously she would have covered a lot of ground in that time as she tried to make her way out of there.”
Glynn said she tried to free the van after it became bogged in the Karroun Hill area, but had to abandon the vehicle.
“She’d used Maxtrax and pieces of wood to try to free the vehicle from its location but unfortunately was unsuccessful,” he said.
“Quite frankly it’s really inhospitable ground to move through easily, and as I said, it has rained recently, there are wet spots and vehicles will get bogged often.”
She was taken to Beacon and then flown to hospital in Perth for medical attention.
“As you can imagine, from the trauma she suffered for the last few days, she’s been obviously through a great deal,” Glynn said.
“She does have some injuries. She’s been ravaged by mosquitoes.
“She’s obviously been through an amazing journey, a trauma, no doubt it will be a testimony to demonstrating her bravery in those circumstances out there.”
Wilga’s family has been notified.
Wilga had been missing since June 29, when she was last seen at a general store in Beacon.
Glynn said Wilga was still “fragile” but thinks she will have a “remarkable story”.
“You’re always so hopeful with these missing person situations,” he said.
“It’s really quite traumatic because you obviously always go out with the best of hope that you will find the person.
“It’s just a great outcome for everyone involved.
“She’s obviously coped in some amazing conditions. There’s a very hostile environment out there, both from flora and fauna. It’s a really, really challenging environment to cope in.”
Wilga’s van, which is believed to have had mechanical issues, was found bogged about 35km from the nearest main track, deep in remote bushland in Karroun Hill where few people venture.
Police had been using trackers in the area but Inspector Glynn said recent rain had made it difficult to determine which direction Wilga may have travelled.
Earlier yesterday, WA Police Acting Inspector Jessica Securo said the search was being concentrated around Wilga’s van.
“Our information to date is she’s likely to [have] become lost in that area and has potentially walked away from her vehicle,” she told ABC Radio Perth.
“The terrain – it’s outback country and there’s large rocky outcrops, so although there’s a number of tracks, you can see how it would be easy to become lost or disoriented in that area if you didn’t know it well.”
Wilga arrived at a general store in Beacon – about 333km northeast of Perth – just after midday on June 29, and left five minutes later driving a black and silver Mitsubishi Delica Star Wagon.
Her friends told police she intended to travel throughout remote and regional parts of WA, and may be travelling to the eastern states.
Friend Denise Kullick told German media outlet Ruhr Nachrichten that Wilga changed her plans to complete a yoga teaching course with a friend to take off alone instead.
“[Wilga’s] friend then alerted the police after she hadn’t responded to her messages for a while,” she said.
“We’re hoping that she’ll come home again. You always try to stay positive.”
Her van was located about 1.10pm on Thursday.
Homicide squad Detective Senior Sergeant Katherine Venn, speaking with media on Thursday, said Wilga was last seen in a very remote small farming town.
The detective said people were drawn to the area because of its picturesque, rocky terrain but it could also be inhospitable.
She said the search area was vast, and while they were keeping an open mind, there was no evidence another person was involved in the backpacker’s disappearance.
“At the moment this is a missing persons investigation,” she said.
“There is no indication that there’s any third-party involvement in her disappearance, but our minds are open to any line of inquiry or any information that people bring forward to us.”
Sergeant Venn said all states and territories had an alert on Wilga’s vehicle for any information on her whereabouts, after it was revealed she could be heading east.
“It is also possible that Caroline could be travelling in remote WA and she could be off-grid and not have access to her phone,” she said.
“She certainly had capacity in the vehicle she was travelling in to be self-sufficient for quite some time.
“Her family are understandably distraught and very worried, as any of us would be with a young family member on the other side of the world missing in such unusual circumstances.”
Wilga has been travelling in Australia for the past two years and regularly contacted her family before she vanished.
Her mother, who is from Castrop-Rauxel in Germany, issued a heartbreaking plea on social media following her daughter’s disappearance.
“I’m her mother and need her [sic] help, as I can’t do much from Germany,” she wrote.
“Carolina is still sorely missed.”
She then issued a plea to others in the area.
“If anyone has any information, please contact the police,” she said. “Please keep your eyes open!”
Wheatbelt local Tilly Elizabeth, who lives on a farm near where Ms Wilga was last seen, described the region as “pretty deserted”.
“There’s been a few disappearances in this area,” she said.
“You can drive along a dirt road and not see anyone, out this way, it’s farms then rocks and barren land.”
Elizabeth described Karroun Hill as an isolated lookout surrounded by harsh, dry terrain.
She said although the area attracted locals and visitors, it was easy to lose your bearings.
“Right where the car was found is really the edge of the Wheatbelt’s agriculture, it’s really isolated,” she said.
“The locals know the tracks well, but it’s so easy to get lost or stuck out here.
“Take a few turns on a gravel road and you can’t find your way back. I get nervous if I’m not sure if there’s an end or if it will connect up to bitumen.
“Rain can cover up your tracks, and at the moment it’s freezing, just a couple of degrees at night.”
Elizabeth said the disappearance had shaken the local community.
“Everyone’s really worried, people just want to hear that she’s okay,” she said.
“No one wants to say they’ve definitely seen her, but small towns talk and people want to help.”