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🇦🇺 Australia /Disasters & Emergencies

Body of missing hiker Lily Hooper recovered from NSW bushland after extensive search

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • The body of missing hiker Lily Hooper has been recovered from Nattai National Park in New South Wales after an eight-day search.
  • The retrieval was difficult due to the park's rough terrain, including dense bushland, cliffs, and ravines.
  • Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon apologized for a miscommunication where the NSW Premier initially stated Ms. Hooper was found alive, causing additional trauma to the family.

The body of Lily Hooper, an 18-year-old hiker who went missing on August 12th, has been recovered from Nattai National Park in New South Wales. Police confirmed the body was found on Thursday, August 20th, after an extensive eight-day multi-agency search effort.

The retrieval operation faced significant challenges due to the rugged landscape of the Southern Highlands park. The terrain includes dense undergrowth, complex cliff lines, and deep ravines, which hampered efforts to locate and extract Ms. Hooper. Her car was found at the start of the Bonnum Pic Walking Trail, a difficult 16km track.

We are exploring every opportunity to get Lily out of there

— Assistant Commissioner Joseph CassarAssistant Commissioner Joseph Cassar spoke on Thursday afternoon about the challenges of retrieving Ms. Hooper's body from the difficult terrain.

Nearly 1,000 individuals, including Australian Defence Force personnel and NSW State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers, participated in the search. They scoured the difficult terrain day and night, battling inclement weather that further complicated the operation. No sign of Ms. Hooper or her belongings had been found until the body was located.

Adding to the family's distress, NSW Premier Chris Minns was initially informed that Ms. Hooper had been found alive, a detail that was widely reported. However, he later corrected this in a parliamentary hearing, stating a body had been found. Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon issued an "unreserved" apology for the miscommunication, acknowledging the "additional trauma" it caused Ms. Hooper's family.

unreservedly apologised for the "miscommunication" and "any additional trauma" to Ms. Hooper's family

— Police Commissioner Mal LanyonPolice Commissioner Mal Lanyon later apologized for the miscommunication regarding the discovery of Ms. Hooper's body.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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