Missing German backpacker Carolina Wilga has been found alive after having disappeared in Western Australia’s remote outback almost two weeks ago.
The Western Australia Wheatbelt District Police announced Friday that Wilga “has been located safe and well in the Wheatbelt” by a member of the public and has since been taken to receive medical attention. Police reported she has some injuries and was heavily bitten by mosquitos.
Officials said she was found near the edge of the Karroun Hill Nature Reserve where her car was found Thursday, almost 22 miles from the main trail of the reserve, deep in an area of remote bushland where few people tend to explore. Overnight temperatures also dipped below freezing at times where and when she was lost.
Police told the press Friday just about a hour before she was found that her vehicle, a Mitsubishi Delica Star Wagon, was stuck, and she was unable to free it. Wilga was discovered by someone as she was on foot along the edge of the reserve. The last time she was seen before that was on June 29 at a store in the town of Beacon.
The area in which she disappeared is described as “outback country,” with rocky outcrops and several trails. WA Police Acting Inspector Jessica Securo said Friday after Wilga was found that “it would be easy to become lost or disorientated in that area if you didn’t know it well.”
