Carolina Wilga releases statement after being found alive in WA's outback

RNZ News

5 days ago

By
Gian De Poloni
,
Kenith Png
and
Garrett Mundy
, ABC
Carolina Wilga.
Photo:
Supplied
Carolina Wilga, the backpacker who was found alive in Western Australia's unforgiving outback, says a car crash and head injury led her to become confused and lost for 11 nights.
In her first public comments since being found on Friday afternoon, the 26-year-old thanked all the people who helped search for her.
"I am simply beyond grateful to have survived," she wrote.
Wilga, a German national, is recovering in a Perth hospital after her ordeal, during which she was exposed to freezing temperatures alone in WA's outback.
She was
found walking along on an unsealed access road
by farmer Tania Henley on Friday afternoon in a chance encounter.
Wilga had walked barefoot across a huge distance in harsh terrain after abandoning her van when it became bogged deep in the Karroun Hill Nature Reserve, straying far off any established track.
Tania Henley who found missing German backpacker Carolina Wilga.
Photo:
ABC News: Rhiannon Shine
On Monday afternoon, Carolina issued a statement saying she lost control of her van and rolled down a slope.
"In the crash, I hit my head significantly. As a result of the accident, I left my car in a state of confusion and got lost," she said.
Wilga said she had water, food and clothing in the van, but left the scene.
During that period of 11 nights, police said Wilga was able to survive on the minimal food she had, and found water from rain and puddles.
She had injured her foot, and had been ravaged by mosquitoes.
They said she sought shelter at night where she could find it, including a cave.
On Friday, Wilga was found by Henley - who owns Bimbijy Station - walking alongside a track about 40 kilometres south of the homestead.
"I was coming back from Beacon because I'd been down to pick up my trailer," Henley told the ABC.
"She was on the side of the road waving her hands."
Henley said it could have been days before another person was travelling on the road where she found Wilga.
A map showing the distance between where Wilga's abandoned car was found and where she was rescued.
Photo:
Google Earth/ABC
The spot where Henley found Wilga was more than 30 kilometres away from where she abandoned her car.
Wilga called Henley her "rescuer and angel."
"First and foremost, I want to express a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart - a thank you that truly comes from the depth of my soul! For all the incredible support during the search for me.
"Previously, I didn't know where my place was in a culture on the other side of the world to my own, but now, I feel a part of it. I am deeply impressed by the courage, helpfulness, and warmth that has been shown to me here. Western Australia has taught me what it really means to be part of a true community. Here, humanity, solidarity, and care for one another are what truly matter - and in the end, that's what counts most.
"I am certain that I survived only thanks to this incredible outpouring of support. The thought of all the people who believed in me, searched for me, and kept hoping for me gave me the strength to carry on during my darkest moments. For this, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.
"Especially to the police investigators, searchers, the German Consulate, the medical staff and the wonderful nurses who took care of me with so much compassion. My deepest thanks also go to every single person who simply thought of me - and of course, to my rescuer and angel, Tania!
"Some people might wonder
why I even left my car
, even though I had water, food, and clothing there. The answer is: I lost control of the car and rolled down a slope. In the crash, I hit my head significantly. As a result of the accident, I left my car in a state of confusion and got lost.
"I am simply beyond grateful to have survived.
"Thank you, Australia - you are amazing."
Bush survival expert Kelli Jackson said the number one rule when encountering mechanical problems in the bush is to always stay with your car.
But she said the stress response of being in an emergency survival scenario could make people think irrationally.
"It's no surprise that people leave their vehicle," she told ABC Radio Perth.
Survival expert Kelli Jackson stresses the importance of staying with a broken-down vehicle.
Photo:
ABC News: Emmy Groves
"If you've been through any emergency situation, a car accident or something like that, you might remember how things go in slow motion.
"We go through what's called an amygdala hijack where our hormones, our fight, flight or freeze [response] takes over, it takes away our ability to think logically and rationally."
She said the shock people experience could make them do "really weird things" like throwing away their gear, running in a random direction or abandoning all their equipment.
An example of panic was a 2022 case, where a woman who broke down on the Gibb River Road left her shoes behind in the shape of an arrow before embarking on a 20-kilometre walk.
She was found alive four days later.
Jackson, a former search and rescue worker, said the first priority for anyone caught in a situation where they were stranded in the bush should be to attend to any first aid.
From there the next focus would be to take a moment to calm down, practice mindfulness techniques and wait for about half an hour before making a decision.
"Have a drink, make a cup of tea, sit there and close your eyes, and all those kind of relaxation [techniques] that everybody knows about," she said.
After that, the next priorities were survival, shelter, water, fire and signalling.
Jackson said people wanted to feel useful in their own survival efforts, and sometimes a person who stayed with their car felt like they were not doing anything, despite it being a key source of shelter.
"The reason why we stay with our vehicle is because it's much easier to be seen from the air."
WA Premier Roger Cook said adventure travellers needed to understand WA's outback could be "dangerous place".
"It's a breathtaking and beautiful part of the world. But it can also be dangerous if you don't take the right preparations."
A collage of drone photos taken north of Beacon shows the terrain in the area where Ms Wilga went missing.
Photo:
ABC News: Mitchell Edgar
The head of WA's tourism council has downplayed any damage to the state's reputation because of the international publicity the case has received.
Evan Hall said it was extremely unlikely potential visitors to the state could be put off.
"WA is really one of the safest places to travel in the world. There might be a little bit of focus on incidents that occur from time to time."
Evan Hill Tourism Council CEO.
Photo:
ABC News: Jon Kerr
Hall said WA's tourism industry remained largely centred on well known attractions and areas, where people rarely run into trouble.
But there were key safety messages that needed to be heeded.
"Don't rely on the phones in regional WA - and if you are planning to get off the well travelled roads and the well marked trails, absolutely make sure you've got a personal locater beacon and appropriate GPS," Hall said.
"Tell someone [where you're going] before you leave."
- ABC