‘Ravaged by mosquitoes’: German backpacker found alive after 12 days missing in Australian bush

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Police in Western Australia released images of Carolina Wilga getting petrol for her van before she went missing.

PHOTOS: AFP

Summary

• German backpacker Carolina Wilga, 26, was found alive after 12 days missing in remote WA bushland, ravaged by mosquitoes but without serious injuries.
• Wilgas van was found stuck in dense bushland after she was last seen on June 29, prompting a major search in hostile conditions with zero temperatures.
• Police praised Wilga’s bravery and resilience, noting the amazing journey and challenging terrain, as she receives medical treatment in Perth.

AI generated

SYDNEY - Lost German backpacker Carolina Wilga was found alive but “ravaged by mosquitoes” on July 11, 12 days after going missing in remote bushland in Western Australia.

A member of the public found the 26-year-old on a bush track at the edge of a nature reserve, and she has been taken to hospital in Perth for treatment, police said.

“She’s been ravaged by mosquitoes. She’s obviously been through an amazing journey, a trauma, and no doubt will be a testimony demonstrating her bravery in the circumstances out there,” WA police inspector Martin Glynn told reporters.

“I think once we do hear her story, it will be a remarkable story.”

Television images showed her gingerly climbing the steps into a light turboprop plane to be flown out for medical treatment, wearing a long beige dress and blue cardigan.

Ms Wilga had been last seen on June 29 arriving in a Mitsubishi van at a general store in the small agricultural community of Beacon, north-east