Woman missing in Kosciuszko for two weeks found suffering snakebite

A 48-year-old woman missing for almost two weeks in Kosciuszko National Park in the Snowy Mountains has been found injured but alive with a suspected snakebite.

Last Monday police began searching for Lovisa Sjoberg, a photographer who frequented the Snowy Mountains but hadn’t been seen for almost a week.

Images of Lovisa Sjoberg shared by friends and NSW Police during the week-long search.

The last reported sighting of the woman, who also goes by “Kiki”, was on the morning of October 15 as she drove a grey Mitsubishi Outlander through the park.

Police described Sjoberg as a capable hiker but authorities and her family became concerned due to her out-of-character disappearance and the length of time since she’d been seen. No one had spoken to her for more than two weeks before the search began, police said.

Police located the grey hire car six days overdue for return last Monday evening near Kiandra Courthouse in the north-east region of the national park, the ABC reported.

Monaro Police District Acting Inspector Andrew Woods said the car had been left there for almost a week.

A helicopter used in the search for the missing woman.Credit: Illawarra Police Rescue Squad

“She’s had it in her possession for approximately 80 days … we know she’s had some regular use of the vehicle,” Woods said. “For it to then be left stationary for six days doesn’t appear to be regular.”

Police set up a command post at the Kiandra Courthouse and a multi-agency search swung into action, including a helicopter with infrared capabilities.

Police horses, the dog unit, trail bikes, four-wheel drives and locals also mobilised to scour the treacherous alpine terrain. A helicopter joined the effort and a dedicated Facebook page for Sjoberg’s search garnered almost 1000 contributors.

At 4.50pm on Sunday, 12 days since Sjoberg was last sighted, a NSW Parks and Wildlife Service officer spotted a figure on the Nungar Creek trail at Kiandra.

It was Sjoberg, dehydrated and injured. Paramedics treated Sjoberg at the scene for exposure and a suspected snakebite before taking her to Cooma District Hospital in a stable condition, police announced Sunday.

Local Mal Bruce, who set up the Facebook page, said it was the “best Sunday ever” after Sjoberg was found. “Lots of the Jindabyne community know her and I hope the creation of the group contributed to her being found,” he said.

Brumby tracks captured in Kosciuszko National Park last year.Credit: James Brickwood

Community members posting on the Facebook group said she was a gifted photographer known among the region’s pro-brumby advocacy groups.

Woods told About Regional on Saturday that search teams were focused on the plains where brumbies congregate as “we believe Lovisa may have been tracking them”.

Photos taken by Sjoberg when she lived in Crackenback, near Jindabyne, were featured in the 2020 Walkley Foundation’s digital photojournalism exhibition on Black Summer and she was a semi-finalist in the 2021 Head On Landscape Award.

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