Mt Keira Lookout: Tanja Ludwig and child Tilly fall to their deaths

A quiet Illawarra suburb is in mourning today, following the tragic deaths of a Coniston mother and her child at Mt Keira on Tuesday afternoon.

• Tragic Tilly, 2, fell to her death with mother at lookout
• Mum, daughter fall to deaths in suspected murder-suicide

A quiet Illawarra suburb is in mourning today, following the tragic deaths of a Coniston mother and her child at Mt Keira on Tuesday afternoon.

The bodies of Tanja Ludwig and her two-year-old daughter Tilly were found at the bottom of tourist hotspot Robertson Lookout just before on Tuesday, after police responded to a concern for welfare.

Police rescue teams retrieved the bodies of Ms Ludwig and her daughter late on Tuesday evening and resumed their investigations on Wednesday morning, after the woman and her daughter plunged to their deaths.

Tanja Ludwig and her child were found dead yesterday.

Specialist paramedics were winched into the dense bushland on Tuesday evening, with thick terrain making the heartbreaking recovery operation even more difficult.

The incident, which is being treated as a possible murder-suicide, shocked the Coniston community, leaving many in a state of disbelief.

Ms Ludwig’s neighbour Athena Kinnas said she couldn’t comprehend the tragic news.

“I can’t believe it,” she said.

“She was so young, a nice lady. A very nice person I saw her with the baby.”

Police have cordoned off a track leading to Robertson Lookout at Mount Keira near Wollongong after a mother and child have fallen to their deaths. Picture: Richard Dobson

Ms Kinnas remembered Ms Ludwig as a “quiet, lovely woman”, and said she often saw her walking down the street with Tilly, who was just 10-days away from turning three.

“I’m going to miss her,” she said. “And the little girl- they were nice. Very nice people.”

The news has sent shockwaves right through the Illawarra, with a local mum visiting the lookout to lay flowers in honour of Ms Ludwig and Tilly this morning.

The woman said she did not know the pair but was “deeply traumatised” by the horrific incident.

A roadblock at Mt Keira. Picture: Madeline Crittenden

It is understood Ms Ludwig and her partner had recently separated “amicably”, and she was living in a Coniston granny flat with her daughter.

Paramedics and police did their best to console Ms Ludwig’s ex-partner and other distraught family members at the scene on Tuesday as they confronted the devastating incident.

In one of her final posts to Facebook, Ms Ludwig posted a message for those struggling with their mental health, offering numbers for organisations like Lifeline and Beyond Blue.

“It’s OK not to be OK,” she wrote in the post. “We all need support sometimes.”

Tanja Ludwig tragically jumped to her death yesterday. Picture: Facebook

Ms Ludwig, understood to be born in Germany, had lived all over the world, including New Zealand, Austria, Thailand and Hawaii before settling in the Illawarra.

Robertson Lookout was the scene of another horrific tragedy in April 2002, where a mother jumped from the lookout with her five-year-old son in her arms. The little boy survived the fall, with his mother, who was tragically killed, taking the brunt of the impact.

The view from the scene. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Ms Ludwig and her daughter’s deaths have renewed community calls for improved fencing and signage with information and contact numbers for mental health support to be installed at the lookout.

While Robertson Lookout is managed by National Parks and Wildlife Services, Wollongong City Council has installed signs with contact information for Lifeline at Mt Keira lookout, not too far from where Ms Ludwig and her daughter died.

*** For support contact Lifeline Crisis Hotline: 13 11 14 ***