The woman who found missing German backpacker Carolina Wilga by the side of an outback road has described her rescue as miraculous.
Ms Wilga was discovered on Friday afternoon, after spending 11 nights exposed to freezing temperatures in WA’s Wheatbelt region.
Prior to that, Ms Wilga was last seen on June 29 at a general store in Beacon, three-and-a-half hours drive north-east of Perth.
Police discovered her abandoned vehicle deep in a nature reserve 36 kilometres north of the town on Thursday afternoon and conducted a large-scale aerial search.
Carolina Wilga miraculously survived after almost two weeks in a remote part of WA.
Police said on Saturday morning Ms Wilga became disoriented while travelling inland before losing control of her car and becoming bogged.
She was able to survive on the minimal food she had, and found water from rain and puddles.
Police said Ms Wilga sought shelter at night where she could find it, including a cave.
About 4:20pm on Friday, Ms Wilga was able to flag down a passing motorist on Mouroubra Road, about 24 kilometres from her stranded van, ending her ordeal.
Police said on Saturday morning Ms Wilga, who was taken to Fiona Stanley Hospital, was exhausted, dehydrated, had been suffering from sunburn and had an injured foot.
‘Very relieved’
The motorist who found her, long-time local farming resident Tania Henley, told the ABC Ms Wilga was very relieved to be picked up.
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“I was coming back from Beacon because I’d been down to pick up my trailer,” she said.
“She was on the side of the road waving her hands.
German tourist survives against all odds in ‘serious piece’ of WA outback
“She was probably about 40 kilometres from my homestead.
Ms Henley knew straight away it was Ms Wilga, after intensifying media coverage in recent days of the 26-year-old’s plight.
“Obviously, there is nobody who comes up my way walking around,” she said.
“She was in a fragile state, but she was well. Thin, but well.
“She’d been bitten by a lot of midgies.
“She said it was very, very cold.”
‘Everything is prickly’
Ms Henley said the rescue was a “miracle”.
“Twelve days. I was thinking the worst,” she said.
“Every day would be a challenge in this weather.
Police searching for Carolina Wilga in the Karroun Hill Nature Reserve. (ABC News)
“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.
“She’s a very resilient person.”
Ms Henley said it could have been days before another person was travelling on the road where she found Ms Wilga.
“Miracle is a word that gets bandied about a lot, but to survive 12 days and cross-country — she went cross country to come to my road,” she said.
‘Pure panic’
Ms Wilga spent 11 nights in the elements after leaving her bogged vehicle, a decision the German tourist told police she made in a “pure panic”.
“She’s still in disbelief that she was able to survive,” WA Police Acting Inspector Jessica Securo said.
“In her mind she had convinced herself she was not going to be located. Eleven days out there is significant.
“She got to a point where she thought no-one’s coming.”
Inspector Securo said it was sheer luck Ms Wilga was found.
Backpacker Carolina Wilga’s van in the Karroun Hill nature reserve. (Supplied: WA Police)
“Just a member of the community. Just happened to be driving by at the right time,” she said.
“My understanding is she [the rescuer] was quite overwhelmed herself.
“It’s not often you drive in such a remote area and you come across a situation like that.”
Inspector Securo said it was unlikely Ms Wilga would be released from hospital today.
“She still needs emotional support around her, and some of her injuries attended to,” she said.
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