Latest news with #JessicaSecuro
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
German backpacker drank from puddles in Australian bush ordeal
German backpacker Carolina Wilga drank water from puddles and sheltered in a cave before escaping an 11-night ordeal in the Australian bush, police said Saturday. The 26-year-old walked "confused and disorientated" 24 kilometres (15 miles) away from her van after it got stuck in remote bushland in Western Australia. The backpacker had lost hope of being rescued, police said. But on Friday, she managed to flag down a woman who drove her to police in the agricultural community of Beacon, northeast of Perth. Wilga was airlifted to a Perth hospital for treatment. "She spent 11 nights exposed to the elements and survived by consuming the minimal food supplies she had in her possession, and drinking water from rain and puddles," Western Australia police said in a statement. "She sought shelter at night where possible, including in a cave." Wilga was suffering from exhaustion, dehydration, sunburn, "extensive insect bites", and an injured foot, police said. The driver who spotted her, Tania Henley, told public broadcaster ABC that she saw Wilga waving her hands by the side of the road. She appeared to be in a "fragile state", bitten by midges and suffering from the cold. "Everything in this bush is very prickly. I just can't believe that she survived. She had no shoes on, she'd wrapped her foot up." The rescue was down to "sheer luck", Western Australia police acting inspector Jessica Securo told a news conference in Perth after speaking to Wilga. "She is still in disbelief that she was able to survive. In her mind, she had convinced herself that she was not going to be located," said Securo. "She basically looked at the direction of the sun and tried to head west, thinking that that would be her best bet of coming across someone or a road." Wilga told police she was "very confused and disorientated". Until her rescue, she had been last seen on June 29 arriving in the van at a general store in Beacon. - 'Dangerous' - A police search spotted the van on Thursday, abandoned in dense bushland north of Beacon with plastic orange traction tracks placed beneath the rear wheels. "It appears that she has somewhat lost control of the vehicle, and then it's become mechanically unsound, and bogged," Securo said. She stayed with the van for one day before leaving the vehicle through "panic", hoping to find help. Wilga was "overwhelmed" to have found someone to help her. "She had minimal food and minimal water. From speaking to her, she has said she could have planned better." The terrain can be "quite dangerous", Securo added. Wilga remained in hospital and was not expected to be released on Saturday, still needing "emotional support" and treatment for some injuries. "She's had a good night's sleep. She's had a shower. We've got her some food, which was a massive relief for her. So she's just taking it one day at a time at the moment." The backpacker is now in "frequent communication" with her family who are relieved and thankful the Western Australian community came together to "throw every resource at locating their daughter", Securo said. The family had no plans at this stage to travel to Australia. Police say Wilga had spent two years backpacking around the country, and was working at mine sites in Western Australia while staying mostly at hostels. "Carolina has told me that she loves Australia. She still has so much travel to do here. She hasn't made it over to the east coast yet, so that's still on her bucket list," said Securo. djw/rsc
Arab News
a day ago
- Arab News
German backpacker drank from puddles in Australian bush ordeal
SYDNEY: German backpacker Carolina Wilga drank water from puddles and sheltered in a cave before escaping an 11-night ordeal in the Australian bush, police said Saturday. The 26-year-old walked 'confused and disorientated' 24 kilometers away from her van after it got stuck in remote bushland in Western Australia. The backpacker had lost hope of being rescued, police said. But on Friday, she managed to flag down a woman who drove her to police in the agricultural community of Beacon, northeast of Perth. Wilga was airlifted to a Perth hospital for treatment. 'She spent 11 nights exposed to the elements and survived by consuming the minimal food supplies she had in her possession, and drinking water from rain and puddles,' Western Australia police said in a statement. 'She sought shelter at night where possible, including in a cave.' Wilga was suffering from exhaustion, dehydration, sunburn, 'extensive insect bites,' and an injured foot, police said. The driver who spotted her, Tania Henley, told public broadcaster ABC that she saw Wilga waving her hands by the side of the road. She appeared to be in a 'fragile state,' bitten by midges and suffering from the cold. 'Everything in this bush is very prickly. I just can't believe that she survived. She had no shoes on, she'd wrapped her foot up.' The rescue was down to 'sheer luck,' Western Australia police acting inspector Jessica Securo told a news conference in Perth after speaking to Wilga. 'She is still in disbelief that she was able to survive. In her mind, she had convinced herself that she was not going to be located,' said Securo. 'She basically looked at the direction of the sun and tried to head west, thinking that that would be her best bet of coming across someone or a road.' Wilga told police she was 'very confused and disorientated.' Until her rescue, she had been last seen on June 29 arriving in the van at a general store in Beacon. A police search spotted the van on Thursday, abandoned in dense bushland north of Beacon with plastic orange traction tracks placed beneath the rear wheels. 'It appears that she has somewhat lost control of the vehicle, and then it's become mechanically unsound, and bogged,' Securo said. She stayed with the van for one day before leaving the vehicle through 'panic,' hoping to find help. Wilga was 'overwhelmed' to have found someone to help her. 'She had minimal food and minimal water. From speaking to her, she has said she could have planned better.' The terrain can be 'quite dangerous,' Securo added. Wilga remained in hospital and was not expected to be released on Saturday, still needing 'emotional support' and treatment for some injuries. 'She's had a good night's sleep. She's had a shower. We've got her some food, which was a massive relief for her. So she's just taking it one day at a time at the moment.' The backpacker is now in 'frequent communication' with her family who are relieved and thankful the Western Australian community came together to 'throw every resource at locating their daughter,' Securo said. The family had no plans at this stage to travel to Australia. Police say Wilga had spent two years backpacking around the country, and was working at mine sites in Western Australia while staying mostly at hostels. 'Carolina has told me that she loves Australia. She still has so much travel to do here. She hasn't made it over to the east coast yet, so that's still on her bucket list,' said Securo.
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
How missing backpacker Carolina Wilga, 26, survived for nearly two weeks in freezing Australian outback
AFTER spending 11 freezing nights out in the wild, it was a "miracle" that saved Carolina Wilga in the remote Australian outback. The "confused and disoriented" German Backpacker, 26, was found by a woman in a passing car in what has been described as "sheer luck". 12 12 12 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 German woman 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.' Authorities said Carolina's van appeared to have suffered mechanical issues and was bogged, The Guardian reported. 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. 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. She had stayed with the car for just a day before panicking and striking out to find help, authorities said. 12 12 12 And with minimal food and water, the German backpacker followed the sun's position to head west. The temperature in the area had dropped down to zero degrees at night and there was heavy rain. At one point, she even sought refuge inside a cave and drank water from puddles to survive. But after enduring the untinkable conditions, Carolina was luckily 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: '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." Securo said on Saturday that Carolina has spoken to her family and had a good night's sleep. 12 She also took a shower and ate warm food. 'This is the best result we could have hoped for,' she said. 'It's sheer luck. The area out there is mixed terrain. It can be quite dangerous if you don't know what you're doing or where you're going, and it's very easy to get lost.' 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.' She was then spotted at a local store in the tiny town of Beacon on June 29 at around 12.10pm. 12 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 was launched to assist the search as WA Police issued an urgent nationwide appeal for information. 12 12
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
German backpacker found after 11 nights in Australia's outback
A backpacker survived nearly two weeks lost in Western Australia's outback by drinking from puddles and sleeping in a cave, police have said. Carolina Wilga, 26, from Germany, was rescued on Friday. She had suffered from exhaustion, dehydration, "extensive insect bites" and an injured foot, according to police. Officers said she walked 24km (15 miles) away from her van in a "confused and disorientated" state after it became stuck in remote bushland. Ms Wilga had convinced herself she was not going to be found, police said, adding that the backpacker's family was relieved and thankful. "She spent 11 nights exposed to the elements and survived by consuming the minimal food supplies she had in her possession, and drinking water from rain and puddles," a Western Australia police statement said. The rescue was down to "sheer luck", acting police inspector Jessica Securo said in a news conference. Ms Wilga was spotted by a driver and airlifted to a hospital in Perth. Tania Henley, the driver, told Australia's public broadcaster ABC that she saw Ms Wilga waving her hands by the side of the road, and she appeared to be in a "fragile state". "Everything in this bush is very prickly. I just can't believe that she survived. She had no shoes on, she'd wrapped her foot up," Ms Henley said. Before her rescue, Ms Wilga was last seen at a general store in the town of Beacon, Western Australia, in her van on 29 June. Police found her abandoned van on Thursday in dense bushland north of Beacon. Securo said it appeared Ms Wilga had lost control of the vehicle, which became mechanically unsound and bogged. Ms Wilga has had a "good night's sleep" in hospital and is "just taking it one day at a time", Securo said. New reward to find murdered British backpacker's remains British woman wins Australia 'backpacker tax' case
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
German backpacker found after 11 nights in Australia's outback
A backpacker survived nearly two weeks lost in Western Australia's outback by drinking from puddles and sleeping in a cave, police have said. Carolina Wilga, 26, from Germany, was rescued on Friday. She had suffered from exhaustion, dehydration, "extensive insect bites" and an injured foot, according to police. Officers said she walked 24km (15 miles) away from her van in a "confused and disorientated" state after it became stuck in remote bushland. Ms Wilga had convinced herself she was not going to be found, police said, adding that the backpacker's family was relieved and thankful. "She spent 11 nights exposed to the elements and survived by consuming the minimal food supplies she had in her possession, and drinking water from rain and puddles," a Western Australia police statement rescue was down to "sheer luck", acting police inspector Jessica Securo said in a news conference. Ms Wilga was spotted by a driver and airlifted to a hospital in Perth. Tania Henley, the driver, told Australia's public broadcaster ABC that she saw Ms Wilga waving her hands by the side of the road, and she appeared to be in a "fragile state". "Everything in this bush is very prickly. I just can't believe that she survived. She had no shoes on, she'd wrapped her foot up," Ms Henley her rescue, Ms Wilga was last seen at a general store in the town of Beacon, Western Australia, in her van on 29 found her abandoned van on Thursday in dense bushland north of said it appeared Ms Wilga had lost control of the vehicle, which became mechanically unsound and Wilga has had a "good night's sleep" in hospital and is "just taking it one day at a time", Securo said.
