German backpacker Carolina Wilga thought she was going to die before she was found by a pastoralist after a 12-day “nightmare” lost in Western Australia’s outback.
A year on, her rescuer, Tania Henley, has shared the remarkable story we knew so little about – from frostbite, to a book deal, and a “thanks” from the other side of the world.
German backpacker Carolina Wilga leaves Perth hospital after five nights recovering from her outback ordeal 9News
Henley was driving along a red dusty road in the Wheatbelt near Beacon, about 250 kilometres north-east of Perth, when she saw the backpacker waving her arms.
By a miracle, Wilga was rescued by a stranger after spending 12 days and 11 nights lost in the bush.
The then-26-year-old stepped onto a police jet last July as her story of survival made international headlines.
“I mean I thought she was dead and she thought she was going to die,” Henley said.
Acting Detective Inspector Jessica Securo led the search with more than 100 officers on the case.
Tania Henley has shared the remarkable story of how she rescued German backpacker Carolina Wilga. 9News
“The coordination and uplifting resources and placing them into remote areas, really made this one different,” Securo said.
CCTV of her last known movements was shared across the nation.
“As time went on the concern for her safety grew and at times wondered if we would find her alive,” Securo said.
Then, in the first glimmer of hope, Wilga’s beaten-up van was found bogged.
A day later, the backpacker stumbled onto Bimbjy Road as Henley drove around the corner, her ute “unusually” packed with snacks.
In the first glimmer of hope, Wilga’s beaten-up van was found bogged. Nine
“She said, ‘I saw there was a lady going to give me an apple’ – well how do you get around that?” Henley told 9News.
The pair drove an hour to emergency crews on standby.
“There was no time to say thank you and goodbye, it was just yeah,” Henley said.
Months after the fateful find, Wilga thanked her rescuer in a text message.
“She said it was 12 degrees and raining, no snow and feels like Australia in winter,” Henley said.
“I think that’s half of how she survived so well.”
Wilga spent six days at Fiona Stanley Hospital, ravaged with mosquito bites.
“She got frostbite on her feet and when I found her she had one of her feet … wrapped up with her scarf,” Henley said.
A year ago, the tiny Wheatbelt town was thrust into the spotlight when Wilga was found alive. Now, the story could finally be told in a book, with the German backpacker reportedly offered a publishing deal.
Henley is hopeful of a reunion.
“Well it has changed my life, for better or worse, finding her, maybe my outlook on life,” she said.