The family of missing hiker Lily Hooper suffered an agonising few minutes of false hope after being told she may have been found alive, police have revealed.
NSW Police said Lily’s parents were first advised that search crews believed their daughter was alive when she was located in dense bushland in the NSW Southern Highlands at about 11.30am on Thursday.
But within just eight to 10 minutes, that initial report was corrected and the family was told the heartbreaking truth: Lily had died.
Police explained that the early message had come from searchers working in exceptionally difficult conditions, with hundreds of volunteers having spent days and nights combing the area for Lily.
‘I think it would be fair to say that they were informed that the initial information [was] that the searchers believed that she was alive, and that’s what was communicated,’ Assistant Commissioner Joseph Cassar APM, Southern Region Commander told reporters on Thursday afternoon.
‘But like I said, within the eight to 10 minutes, we were able to give an update, which was a more accurate account of the discovery.’
Authorities said the search zone was vast, heavily wooded and covered in thick bush, with large sections proving extremely hard for crews to move through.
Teams on the ground had been using handheld communication devices to send updates back to the command post, a process police acknowledged could be difficult in such rugged terrain.
The body of missing hiker Lily Hooper has been found eight days after she disappeared in the NSW Southern Highlands
The experienced hiker’s body was found eight days after she disappeared while hiking in the Nattai National Park
Rescuers were seen comforting devastated loved ones near the site on Thursday morning
‘They’re carrying handheld communication devices, and as you can appreciate, we’ve all experienced it. Sometimes the communication is a challenge,’ Asst. Commissioner Cassar said.
He said Lily’s mother and father had spent a significant amount of time at the command post and were in regular contact with an inspector and family liaison officer.
The police defended the decision to pass on the initial information, saying officers had sought to keep the family updated at every stage rather than withholding developments until every detail had been confirmed.
‘There’s no playbook to communication,’ he said.
‘Sometimes due to whatever the circumstances may be, whether it’s not an accurate report or communication challenges, sometimes the information provided isn’t as accurate as first is received.
‘But that’s why we continually get updates on this situation.’
Asst. Commissioner Cassar was also pressed on whether officers should have done more to verify that Lily was alive before passing the information on to her parents.
He rejected suggestions police had ‘jumped the gun’, but said circumstances surrounding the mistake would be examined.
When asked by reporters what he would like to say to Lily’s family, Asst. Commissioner Cassar said he hoped he could ‘turn the clock back’
‘We’re talking about hundreds of volunteer people that are trained in searching. We’re talking about thick, dense terrain,’ he said.
‘We are talking about processes that we’ve adopted to engage the family members to keep them informed throughout every step of the way.
‘When we talk about a very short window in information being provided, no, I don’t believe we’ve jumped the gun.
‘But I will tell you that will form part of the investigation.’
The mix-up had led NSW Premier Chris Minns to announce at a budget estimates hearing that Lily had been found alive in the bush with ‘half a bottle of water’.
Minutes later, he told the same inquiry that Lily was dead: ‘She has been found deceased, and I only raise that because I gave earlier advice.’
Minns then issued an apology via a statement shortly after speaking in NSW Parliament: ‘Advice I received earlier today relating to Lily Hooper was incorrect. I genuinely believed I was sharing good news.
‘My deepest condolences are with Lily’s family. I am profoundly sorry to think that anything I said may have added to their heartbreak at an already devastating time.’
NSW Police are reportedly working with local officers to determine how the error was made
Family and friends were seen consoling each other at the search’s command post
Nearly 100 Australian Defence Force members joined the search for Lily, alongside NSW Police, NSW SES and the Lifesaver 21 rescue helicopter crew
The news comes just days after Lily’s heartbroken family thanked authorities for their ‘desperate’ efforts as search teams scoured the bushland.
‘We would like to thank all the emergency services and volunteers for their support and continued commitment to the search, not only during the day but throughout the night,’ they said.
‘We desperately want to bring Lily home safe and we ask as the search continues, to keep our family and Lily in your thoughts.’
Lily’s father Jim Hooper previously asked the public to send out ‘love and energy’ in the hopes authorities would find his daughter alive.
‘I’m very upset. I just want everyone to cross their fingers,’ he told 2SM on Monday.
‘I just want everyone to throw love and energy because we’ve got to go and find her. She’s got to be in there somewhere. It’s been too long.’
The grim discovery comes after search and rescue teams navigated through challenging terrain, with the Bonnum Pic trek involving extensive rock scrambling, bush bashing and difficult route finding.
A popular trail guide app, which describes the 16-kilometre trail as ‘strenuous’, warns hikers to ‘proceed cautiously’ on the route.
She was last seen leaving her parents’ home on Burragorang Road at Oakdale, south-west of Sydney , at about 8am last Wednesday
Hikers have described the trek as involving extensive rock scrambling and bush bashing
‘Generally considered a highly challenging route, it should only be attempted by experienced adventurers. This trail is great for hiking and walking, and it’s unlikely you’ll encounter many other people while exploring,’ the app states.
It also warns there is a ‘weak’ and ‘unreliable’ mobile signal on the route.
‘Definitely download maps as trail was often hard to find in [the] middle section. Would not recommend to do solo as we had safety in numbers,’ one local hiker warned.
Another said: ‘We did find ourselves off track and doing a fair bit of bush bashing to get back on track.’
