‘Very scared, very relieved’: The moment a missing backpacker was found alive

The woman who found a missing German backpacker wandering barefoot and starving in the Aussie outback said it was a “miracle” she survived 12 days alone in the bush.

The woman who came across the missing backpacker in the Western Australian outback said she was “very scared, very relieved” when finally found after nearly two weeks in the wilderness.

Tania, who came across Carolina Wilga limping along a remote roadside near Karroun Hill, said she knew right away it was the missing woman.

“She [was] very scared, very relieved. She was in a fragile state but she was well, thin, but well,” Tania told the ABC.

“She said it was very, very cold, and it was—it was below zero.

“It is a miracle, 12 days. Everything in this bush is very prickly … I just can’t believe that she’s survived really, to be honest.

“She had no shoes on, it wasn’t a shoe she had on her foot, she had wrapped her foot up.

“She’s a very resilient person, she’s very clever as in to survive that long, I mean, not many people can do that.”

Missing German backpacker Carolina Wilga is helped onto a plane for medical treatment, after surviving 12 days in the Wheatbelt region of WA. Picture: 7News

Police said it was “sheer luck” that led to the survival of Ms Wilga, who spent nearly two weeks lost, disoriented and exposed to the harsh elements of the Western Australian outback.

Weak, severely dehydrated, starving and “mosquito-ravaged,” Ms Wilga was found limping barefoot along a remote roadside in the Karroun Hills area of WA’s Wheatbelt region. She had survived 12 harrowing days in the bush—11 of them spent navigating the wilderness alone.

She was eventually able to flag down a passing motorist, Tania, who immediately recognised her as the missing backpacker and transported her to authorities for help.

Police revealed Ms Wilga’s van was bogged and she attempted to seek help elsewhere after abandoning the vehicle. Picture: 7News

At the time she was 24 kilometres from where her car had become bogged and was 20km from the nearest walking track.

Delivering an update on Saturday WA Police Detective Acting Inspector Jessica Securo emphasised Ms Wilga’s luck in being discovered when she was.

“Our information so far is she spent one day with the car after it became bogged and then she moved on from there. So she was essentially out in the wilderness for about 11 nights, which is significant and just brings us back to how lucky she was, as she was located safe and well and how thankful we are that we managed to find her,” Inspector Securo said.

Inspector Securo said Ms Wilga had “minimal food and water” in the car and was “still in disbelief that she was able to survive” the nightmare situation.

“In her mind, she had convinced herself that she was not going to be located,” Inspector Securo said.

“I mean, 11 days out there is significant. So I’m sure she got to a point where she thought, ‘no one’s coming’.”

The rugged terrain of the region meant Ms Wilga had a difficult time trying to find out where she was and navigate to safety. Picture: 7 NEWS

Extraordinarily, Inspector Securo said Ms Wilga is still interested in continuing her Australian travels after recovering from the ordeal.

“Carol has told me that she loves Australia. She still has so much travel to do here,” Inspector Securo said.

“She hasn’t made it over to the East Coast yet, so that’s still on her bucket list. So I think if she has the ability to stay, she definitely will.”

Grim fears were held for the safety of Ms Wilga after she disappeared on June 29, before her abandoned van was found 35 km off-track in dense bushland.

Inspector Securo confirmed Ms Wilga was “very fatigued” but “safe and well” after she was taken to Beacon and then flown to hospital in Perth for medical attention.

Ms Wilga had convinced herself she was not going to survive, according to the latest update from police. Picture: 7 NEWS

“She’s had a good night’s sleep. She’s had a shower. We’ve got some food, which was a massive relief for her.

“She’s just taking it one day at a time at the moment.”

Ms Wilga survived subzero temperatures throughout the ordeal and was found with just one shoe. 

A stranger is said to have found her walking along a bushtrack. Picture: 7 NEWS

Photos of the rescue show Ms Wilga arriving in Beacon, stepping out of a police vehicle and boarding a plane bound for Perth to receive medical care.

Inspector Securo revealed Ms 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 on Friday night confirmed Ms Wilga had been located “safe and well” after the van she was travelling in became bogged.

Ms Wilga survived subzero temperatures throughout the ordeal and was found with just one shoe.

Inspector Martin Glynn said the 26-year-old had been found by a member of the public on a track at the edge of the nature reserve where her car was found.

“She’s 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,” he said.

“Obviously she would have covered a lot of ground in that time as she tried to make her way out of there.”

Mr 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.”

German backpacker Carolina Wilga has been found in outback WA after she went missing nearly two weeks ago. Picture: WA Police

Carolina Wilga had last been seen on June 29. Picture: Handout/WA Police

Inspector Martin Glynn said “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.“

“Obviously she would have covered a lot of ground in that time as she tried to make her way out of there.”

Mr 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.”

Inspector Securo said Ms Wilga was back in contact with loved ones and provided thanks “for the combined efforts of the West Australian Police Force and the West Australian Community”.

“We never gave up hope that Carolina would be found safe and well, and this is truly the best outcome and best result we could have wished for,” Inspector Securo said.

“The support of our Western Australian community is our greatest asset, particularly in a state as vast as ours. The incredible result just reinforces how wonderful the WA community is.”

Ms Wilga had been missing since June 29 when she was last seen at a general store in Beacon.

Mr Glynn said Ms 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.”

Police had been using trackers in the area but Inspector Glynn said recent rain had made it difficult to determine which direction Ms Wilga may have travelled.

Police discovered Ms Wilga’s van about 35km away from main tracks in dense bushland in WA. Picture: WA Police

The extensive search covered rough bushland in WA’s outback Wheatbelt region. Picture: WA Police

Earlier on Friday, WA Police Acting Inspector Jessica Securo said the search was being concentrated around Ms 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 disorientated in that area if you didn’t know it well.”

Ms 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 Ms Wilga changed her plans to complete a yoga teaching course with a friend to take off alone instead.

“(Ms 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.

The Mitsubishi Delica van that was driven by Carolina Wilga. Picture: WA Police

Ms Wilga was last seen on June 29. Picture: WA Police / AFP

Homicide squad Detective Senior Sergeant Katherine Venn, speaking with media on Thursday, said Ms 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 Ms 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.”

Ms Wilga was last seen at a general store in the WA wheatbelt town of Beacon on June 29. Picture: Supplied

‘Keep your eyes open’: Family’s desperate plea

Ms 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 heartbreaking 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.”

Ms 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.”

Ms Elizabeth said the disappearance had shaken the local community.

“Everyone’s really worried, people just want to hear that she’s OK,” she said.

“No one wants to say they’ve definitely seen her, but small towns talk and people want to help.”

Originally published as ‘Very scared, very relieved’: The moment a missing backpacker was found alive