Carolina Wilga, the backpacker who was found alive in Western Australia’s unforgiving outback, says a car crash and head injury led her to become confused and lost for 11 nights.
In her first public comments since being found on Friday afternoon, the 26-year-old thanked all the people who helped search for her.
“I am simply beyond grateful to have survived,” she wrote.
Ms Wilga, a German national, is recovering in a Perth hospital after her ordeal, during which she was exposed to freezing temperatures alone in WA’s outback.
Tania Henley who found missing German backpacker Carolina Wilga. (ABC News: Rhiannon Shine)
She was found walking along on an unsealed access road by farmer Tania Henley on Friday afternoon in a chance encounter.
Ms Wilga had walked barefoot across a huge distance in harsh terrain after abandoning her van when it became bogged deep in the Karroun Hill Nature Reserve, straying far off any established track.
On Monday afternoon, Carolina issued a statement saying she lost control of her van and rolled down a slope deep in Karroun Hill Nature Reserve.
“In the crash, I hit my head significantly. As a result of the accident, I left my car in a state of confusion and got lost,” she said.
Ms Wilga said she had water, food, and clothing in there, but left the scene.
The car was lodged in bushes on the side of a rocky outcrop. (Supplied: WA Police)
She was found by Ms Henley, who owns Bimbijy Station, walking alongside a track about 40 kilometres south of the homestead.
“I was coming back from Beacon because I’d been down to pick up my trailer,” Ms Henley told the ABC.
Ms Henley found Ms Wilga walking along the edge of Karroun Hill Nature Reserve on Friday. (ABC News: Rhiannon Shine)
“She was on the side of the road waving her hands.”
Ms Henley said it could have been days before another person was travelling on the road where she found Ms Wilga.
A map showing the distance between where Ms Wilga’s abandoned car was found and where she was rescued. (Supplied: Google Earth)
The spot where Ms Henley found Ms Wilga was more than 30 kilometres away from where she abandoned her car.
Ms Wilga called Ms Henley her “rescuer and angel.”
Carolina Wilga’s full statement:
First and foremost, I want to express a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart — a thank you that truly comes from the depth of my soul! For all the incredible support during the search for me.
Previously, I didn’t know where my place was in a culture on the other side of the world to my own, but now, I feel a part of it. I am deeply impressed by the courage, helpfulness, and warmth that has been shown to me here. Western Australia has taught me what it really means to be part of a true community. Here, humanity, solidarity, and care for one another are what truly matter — and in the end, that’s what counts most.
I am certain that I survived only thanks to this incredible outpouring of support. The thought of all the people who believed in me, searched for me, and kept hoping for me gave me the strength to carry on during my darkest moments. For this, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Especially to the police investigators, searchers, the German Consulate, the medical staff and the wonderful nurses who took care of me with so much compassion. My deepest thanks also go to every single person who simply thought of me — and of course, to my rescuer and angel, Tania!
Some people might wonder why I even left my car, even though I had water, food, and clothing there. The answer is: I lost control of the car and rolled down a slope. In the crash, I hit my head significantly. As a result of the accident, I left my car in a state of confusion and got lost.
I am simply beyond grateful to have survived.
Thank you, Australia — you are amazing.
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