German backpacker who survived nearly two weeks lost in the Outback reveals strange ‘alarm’ sound that led her deeper into the remote wilderness
German backpacker Carolina Wilga, 27, has revealed she experienced hallucinations that drew her further into the Australian Outback after surviving almost 12 days lost in remote bushland near Beacon, Western Australia. In her first sit-down interview since the ordeal, which began after she suffered a head injury in a crash in June 2025, she described hearing an "alarm" sound that compelled her to leave her vehicle and keep walking, despite having no shoes, food or water.
Wilga lost 12kg while wandering the wilderness, surviving by drinking water from puddles and sleeping in a cave as overnight temperatures dropped close to freezing. She was eventually found, dazed and barefoot, around 24km from her abandoned van by local farmer Tania Henley, who had unknowingly crossed paths with her just a day earlier while searching for tyre tracks. Police had launched a land and air search after she was reported missing, and West Australian Police Commissioner Col Blanch later described her survival and the chance encounter with Henley as "extraordinary luck". Wilga has since written a book about her experience, titled *Escaping the Outback: My Fight for Survival*, and plans to return to Australia to reunite with Henley.
- German backpacker survived 12 days lost in the Australian Outback
- She describes hallucinated "alarm" sounds that led her deeper into bushland
- Farmer who rescued her had unknowingly passed her a day earlier
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Carolina Wilga is a 27-year-old backpacker from Germany who went missing in June 2025 while travelling through remote bushland near Beacon, a small town in Western Australia. She had crashed her van and suffered a head injury, then set off on foot without shoes, food or water, and was not found for almost 12 days. Her disappearance triggered a large land and air search by police.
Wilga survived by sheltering in a cave and drinking rainwater from puddles, losing a significant amount of weight before she was eventually discovered, dazed and barefoot, many kilometres from her vehicle by a local farmer. Her survival, given the harsh conditions and length of time she was missing, was widely described by authorities as remarkable.
The case drew international attention as a rare Outback survival story, and Wilga has since spoken publicly and written a book about her experience. Her account of hallucinations during the ordeal adds a new detail to the story of how she came to travel so far from her stranded van.