Carolina Wilga: Police Commissioner officers ‘never gave up hope’ on finding missing German backpacker

Police Commissioner Col Blanch says it is a “miracle” German backpacker Carolina Wilga survived 12 days in WA’s outback, revealing he and his officers “never gave up hope”. The 26-year-old miraculously survived 11 nights alone in the Wheatbelt region after losing control of her van, hitting her head and wandering off from her bogged vehicle in a state of confusion. On Monday night, Ms Wilga posted photographs from her hospital bed at Fiona Stanley Hospital surrounded by food gifted to her by the German Consulate. “When you need to gain 12 kilograms back,” the photo caption read. Ms Wilga survived by drinking rainwater from puddles and sleeping in a cave before she was spotted by local farmer, Tania French, on Friday afternoon. Ms Blanch said he was “elated” to hear Ms Wilga had been found alive and well. “For the police team and all the volunteers and even the local community who were out there, it’s a feeling of elation to have someone recovered successfully and alive and relatively okay,” he told 6PR on Tuesday. “(To survive 12) days, that’s not something you would ordinarily expect, particularly in regional WA. “Thankfully, at this time of year, there was a bit of rain and a bit of cool weather, rather than the heat that we normally have. “To meet Tania on the road just at that moment (was) extraordinary luck.” Mr Blanch said drones and helicopters were deployed to the region and said his officers were conducting a grid search when the young woman was found. “We were in the process of doing a methodical grid search, so if she continued on moving, I’m hopeful that we would have seen her,” he said. “We have very well trained police who do land searches; we will have a command post where we will either send a truck or a vehicle out. “We have Starlink communications, we have food catering for the people who are searching (and) we have communications with our air capabilities, so we had helicopters and aircrafts and drones up in the sky. “It’s quite a large logistical effort to roster people on and to have that 24/7 response, but we train for it, we exercise for it; it is what we do as part of our role as police.” When asked if it was worth deploying so many resources, Mr Blanch said: “What if it was our kid? What if it was our loved one?” “You would want that response for anyone,” he said. “We train for it, we have the experts, of course we’re going to do it right, we’re about helping our most vulnerable at (all) times, and that’s what this is about. “I would expect that every parent out there, every brother and sister and every person that has a loved one, would want us to roll out like we do and to try to find people.” Mr Blanch described Ms Wilga’s survival story as an “amazing tale” and commended her incredible sense of direction. “She certainly had good skills to keep moving and tracking in one direction,” he said. “I think it was a miracle that Tania turned up when she did, and what an amazing person she is. “I think the entire search and rescue team were elated that we recovered Carolina alive and I think we never gave up hope.” Ms Wilga remained in a stable condition at Fiona Stanley Hospital on Tuesday. Premier Roger Cook on Tuesday said “the more we find out about this story, the more we are amazed”. “One, about Carolina’s resilience, and two, just the set of circumstances that led to her discovery by the member of the public, the effort that went into (the search) by emergency services, police in particular, and the incredible luck that she had to be discovered in the way that she was.” Referring to Ms Wilga’s hospital feast, Mr Cook added the “opportunity to be able to put on 12kg is one that a lot of us would look forward to”. In a statement released by police on Monday, Ms Wilga the WA community for their dedicated search efforts. “I am certain that I survived only thanks to this incredible outpouring of support,” she said. “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.”