Backpacker found safe after 12 days in Western Australia outback

A German backpacker has been found alive after going missing 12 days ago in remote Western Australia bushland.

- Caitlin Cassidy Eelemarni Close-Brown

Carolina Wilga, 26, was found on a bush track on the edge of the reserve where she had gone missing.

Insp Martin Glynn of the Western Australia police force told reporters yesterday that Wilga had been recovered by a member of the public on the roadside and brought to Beacon, 200 miles north-west of Perth. Wilga was then airlifted to hospital in Perth.

"She's been obviously through a great deal," Glynn said. "She does have some injuries. She's been ravaged by mosquitoes. She's obviously been through an amazing journey. A trauma [that] no doubt will be a testimony to demonstrating her bravery in those circumstances out there.

"I think once we do hear her story, it will be a remarkable story," Glynn said, adding that it was a "great result" for the backpacker's family and those involved in the search.

Police found Wilga's abandoned Mitsubishi van on Thursday, about 100 miles from Beacon in the Karroun Hill area, which has been described as remote and inhospitable country.