Police found a body believed to be Lily Hooper after an eight-day search in Australian bushland, ending what happened to Lily Hooper after the 18-year-old left her home in Sydney on 12 August to go walking. Her family reported her missing later that night when she did not return by 10pm.
The body was found in the Southern Highlands at about 11:30 local time on Thursday, and police said it was in dense vegetation. It would likely have to be carried out on foot, leaving the formal identification still to be completed.
Lily Hooper and Nattai National Park
Hooper’s car was found in a car park at the bottom of a challenging trail in Nattai National Park, which became the focus of the search. That search drew support from PolAir, the Rescue Unit, the Trail Bike Unit, the Mounted Unit and the Dog Unit, along with the Rural Fire Service, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and almost 100 members of the Australian Defence Force.
Joseph Cassar said there was a period of between eight to 10 minutes before Hooper’s parents were given an updated report on her condition. The delay came after a false update had already spread through the response and had to be corrected.
Chris Minns in parliament
Chris Minns first told the New South Wales parliament that Hooper had been found alive, then retracted that statement and said: “Lily's body has been found.” He also said: “This is obviously devastating, and I'm profoundly sad for her family and for all those concerned,” putting the correction on the record in the same setting where the error had been made.
Anthony Albanese paid tribute to Lily Hooper in parliament and said: “Lily Hooper had so much more to offer the world. Her passing, I have no doubt, will be felt very deeply,” while Angus Taylor said: “We can only imagine what Lily's family is going through right now. Such news would be a nightmare for any parent, and we grieve for Lily's wider family,” after the incorrect reports that she had been found alive.
The body had not yet been formally identified, so the immediate next step is the identification process after the recovery from dense bushland. What led to Lily Hooper’s disappearance in Nattai National Park is still not explained, and that is the part her family — and the searchers who spent days in the terrain — are left waiting to understand.
