The body of missing 18-year-old bushwalker Lily Hooper has been found in a remote New South Wales national park more than a week after she set out on her hike. NSW police said in a statement: “The body of a woman has been located in bushland following the search for a missing bushwalker in the Southern Highlands.” A police spokesperson said “while yet to be formally identified, the body is believed to be that of the 18-year-old woman”. They said a report would be prepared for the coroner.
Earlier on Thursday, NSW police said a “hiker” had been found after the multi-agency search in the rugged terrain of Nattai national park, about 90km south-west of Sydney. Just minutes earlier, Minns had said Lily had been “found alive”. She’d been found deceased.
This is obviously devastating, and I’m profoundly sad for her family and for all those concerned. I apologise.” Minns said in a statement he received incorrect advice and “genuinely believed” he was sharing good news. Hooper left her Sydney home on Wednesday 12 August for the hike.
Initial police inquiries suggested she reached the summit of Bonnum Pic mountain mid-morning on Wednesday, having sent messages from the trail earlier that day. She was reported missing when she did not return home that evening. Her car was located by emergency services near the trail head on Wanganderry Road at High Range on Wednesday night.
More than 100 ADF personnel had joined the search operation in the past 24 hours. The army personnel joined people from PolAir, NSW police, the SES, RFS, Fire and Rescue NSW, and the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Volunteers on the ground include Hooper’s family, family and Volunteer Rescue Association crews mobilised from as far north as Cessnock.
On Monday, police said the search was focused on the lower sections of the Bonnum Pic walking trail. The NSW police chief inspector Brendan Bernie said earlier this week: “It’s quite dense with the bushland and there’s a dense tree canopy which also hinders our aerial searching.” Police were uncertain of what supplies Hooper had with her. Poor weather over the weekend had hampered search operations in the already complex terrain.
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