Police Describe German Backpacker Carolina Wilga's Rescue as 'Pure Chance'

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According to police, a German backpacker endured the harsh outback conditions with minimal sustenance for 11 days before stumbling upon a road and catching the attention of a passing motorist purely by “sheer luck”.

The 26-year-old, Carolina Wilga, is currently in a hospital recuperating from dehydration, fatigue, and minor injuries sustained during her almost two-week-long distressing experience in the Western Australian wheatbelt.

Wilga was discovered on Friday afternoon by a passing female driver, having last been seen on 29 June at a store in the town of Beacon, approximately 300km northeast of Perth.

Her disappearance sparked a massive search following an urgent appeal from her mother due to safety concerns.

Police disclosed that Wilga stayed only one night with her van after it got stuck in the thick bushes of the Karroun Hill Nature Reserve, 35km off the main trail.

Choosing to walk west by following the sun, she believed it would lead her to a road.

“She was essentially out in the wilderness for about 11 nights, which is significant,” said detective acting inspector Jessica Securo to reporters on Saturday.

“(That) helps us understand how fortunate she was to be found safe and well, and we are extremely grateful for her discovery.”

“She is still in disbelief that she was able to survive. In her mind, she had convinced herself she was not going to be located.”

Wilga walked a total of 24km with “minimal food and water” before the chance encounter with Tania, who was driving past.

“She was on the side of the road waving her hands. She was in a fragile state, but she was well. Thin but well,” Tania told the ABC.

“She’d been bitten by a lot of midgies. She said it was very, very cold.”

‘It can be quite dangerous’

Temperatures dropped to zero at night in the region, while there was also heavy rain over several days.

Securo, who has spoken with Wilga, said the tourist had become very confused and disorientated and it was “sheer luck” she found the road.

“The area out there … it can be quite dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing or where you are going,” Securo said.

An aerial view of a van sitting amid dry bushland scrub.

Wilga spent just one night with her van after it got bogged in dense bushland. Credit: AAP Image / Supplied by Western Australia Police.

Wilga has had a “good night’s sleep”, food and a shower since being found and had been left overwhelmed by the media attention.

She could continue her stay in Australia and still has the east coast on her bucket list, Securo said.

“It’s still early days and obviously she’s focusing on her recovery (but) I know she wants to work in Australia,” she said.

“She still has so much travel to do here. I think if she has the ability to stay, she definitely will.”

Carolina Wilga “is still in disbelief that she was able to survive”, Western Australian Police detective acting inspector Jessica Securo stated. Source: AAP / WA Police

Police are still trying to figure out how the van got into trouble, but said it appeared Wilga lost control trying to find a track.

Securo said in survival situations, people were always better off staying with their car.

“It’s far easier for an aerial search to locate a vehicle than it is a person,” she said.