Drank from puddles Missing German backpacker found in Australia

A missing German woman has escaped with a black eye after eleven days in the Australian bush. For the Australian public, this is tantamount to a miracle.

DPA

12.07.2025, 15:19

dpa

According to Australian police, the German backpacker Carolina Wilga drank rainwater and water from puddles for eleven days and sometimes slept in caves. The 26-year-old was found dehydrated and exhausted, and had suffered minor injuries such as sunburn, numerous insect bites and a foot injury, the Western Australian police wrote on Facebook on Saturday morning (local time).

Wilga is currently receiving medical treatment in the regional capital Perth, and is also receiving "emotional support" to deal with the events of the past few weeks, police superintendent Jessica Securo told the news program 9 News Australia. Securo emphasized the importance of staying in the vehicle in the event of a breakdown, as it is easier for emergency services to locate a car.

Eleven days lost in the bush

Due to a mechanical fault in her vehicle, Wilga's car left the road and got stuck in the Australian bush. Wilga therefore had to leave the car and wandered disoriented through the remote area for eleven days.

On Friday afternoon, the 26-year-old was able to attract the attention of a female driver who gave Wilga a lift to the next town. The lost backpacker was found 24 kilometers away from her vehicle, according to the police.

The German woman, who had been traveling around Australia for two years, was last seen in Beacon on June 29. The town is located in the so-called Western Australian Wheatbelt - a sparsely populated region known for its grain cultivation. Since then, her trail was lost until Thursday, when her vehicle was discovered in the wilderness of the vast Karroun Hill Nature Reserve, around 300 kilometers northeast of Perth.