Police in South Australia have launched a large-scale search for a 66-year-old woman who went missing after hiking alone at Mount Remarkable in the state's Mid North. The search matters because it comes just weeks after another hiker, 18-year-old Lily Hooper, died after going missing in a New South Wales national park, and because wet, difficult conditions are hampering the search effort.

The woman, from New South Wales, had been hiking with a friend who turned back around 4pm on Tuesday, leaving her to continue alone towards the summit. When she failed to return, the alarm was raised at 9.15pm, prompting an overnight aerial search by PolAir and a ground search of park trails, which found no trace of her. A multi-agency operation involving police patrols, Mounted Operations and SES volunteers resumed on Wednesday morning, though an SES duty officer noted the area, located in the Southern Flinders Ranges roughly three-and-a-half hours from Adelaide, has been affected by prolonged wet weather.