Caroline Wilga expresses gratitude to her rescuers from her hospital bed after survival

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Key Points

Carolina Wilga had been lost in the bush for 11 days before her van was found abandoned in remote bush.
She was found alive on Friday after 11 nights in the elements.
She has issued a statement thanking everyone who thought of her and helped in the search.

German backpacker Carolina Wilga has spoken for the first time about her experience being lost in the remote Australian outback for 12 days.

The 26-year-old is still recovering in hospital after surviving 11 nights in the elements after her vehicle became bogged in a seldom-visited nature reserve in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt region.

In a statement released by WA Police, alongside a photograph of her sitting in a Perth hospital bed, Wilga expressed her gratitude for all the support she had received and provided some insight into what prompted her to leave her vehicle.

Police launched a search for Wilga last week after family members reported she had not been heard from since late June. She was found by local farmer Tania Henley walking on an unsealed road on Friday.

She had left a backpackers hostel in Fremantle on 28 June and police used CCTV to track her last known movements to the Wheatbelt region, about 300km from Perth.

A screenshot of aerial vision of a van bogged and surrounded by rocks and scrub.

Carolina Wilga’s van was found on Thursday. It had been abandoned in remote bushland 35km from the nearest track. Source: Supplied / Western Australia Police Force

Police launched a more targeted search of Karroun Hill Nature Reserve after they found the van she had been travelling in bogged in bushland in the reserve, 35km off a main track.

It was as searchers were preparing to wind up searching for the day on Friday that Wilga was found.

“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,” she said on Monday.

‘Deeply impressed’

Wilga, who had been travelling throughout Australia for two years, said she previously had not known where her place “in a culture on the other side of the world” to her own was, “but now, I feel a part of it”.

She said she was “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.”

Carolina Wilga walking onto a small aeroplane, followed by a number of people.

Caroline Wilga was found alive after being missing for 12 days and spending 11 nights alone in remote bushland. Source: AAP / ABC/PR IMAGE

Wilga said while her experience had prompted dark moments, she said she believed she survived only thanks to an “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.”

Wilga explains why she left her vehicle

She thanked everyone who thought of her as well as police, searchers, medical staff and the German Consulate and the woman who found her: “my rescuer and angel, Tania”.

Wilga acknowledged the curiosity around her decision to walk away from her vehicle.

Survival experts and emergency services personnel in Australia often urge people to stay with their vehicle if they become lost in a remote area, however Wilga left her car, and spent 11 nights in bushland, walking 24km with minimal food and water.

“Some people might wonder why I even left my car, even though I had water, food, and clothing there,” she said in her statement.

“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.”

Wilga escaped serious physical injury, coming away from the ordeal with cuts and bruises and suffering from dehydration and fatigue.