Missing German backpacker Carolina Wilga has been found alive in the remote Western Australian outback.
9News understands Wilga was picked up by a member of the public near Beacon, more than 300 kilometres north-east of Perth in the Wheatbelt region.
Police had earlier released CCTV footage of Wilga pulling up at a general store in Beacon about 12.10pm on the day she was last seen.
She had been driving a van, which police found bogged earlier this week.
The breakthrough tonight came shortly after police revealed plans for a land search this weekend.
Inspector Martin Glynn said police believed Wilga made “extensive efforts” to free her vehicle from remote terrain after it became bogged.
“She’d used MAXTRAX and pieces of wood to try to free the vehicle from its location but unfortunately was unsuccessful,” he said.
“Quite frankly, it’s extremely challenging terrain to traverse easily. As I mentioned, it has recently rained, resulting in wet areas where vehicles frequently get bogged down.”
Trackers deployed to Beacon had struggled to find any evidence of the 26-year-old leaving her vehicle, Glynn had said.
“The area has been subject to some rain and it’s very firm ground so unfortunately we haven’t been able to identify a direction of travel,” he said.
Police today conducted a 300-metre search around the vehicle for any sign of the missing backpacker.
