Dad of teen hiker Lily Hooper sends message to police after she was mistakenly reported 'alive'
The father of 18-year-old hiker Lily Hooper has spoken out after his family was mistakenly told she had been found alive following an eight-day search in Australian bushland.
Lily disappeared after setting out on a solo hike through Nattai National Park in New South Wales on August 12.
Her family raised the alarm later that evening when she failed to return home, sparking a huge search involving hundreds of police, emergency service workers and volunteers.
Her car was found near the challenging Bonnum Pic trail, with crews continuing to scour the rugged area for more than a week.
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Unfortunately, the search ended in tragedy on August 20 when Lily’s body was found in bushland.
Before that devastating confirmation reached her family, however, they were incorrectly told that the teenager had been located alive.
Lily’s dad, Jim Hooper, has now addressed the communication error and revealed to 7NEWS he holds ‘no anger’ towards NSW Police or the State Emergency Service.
Instead, Jim said he is grateful to those who spent days looking for his daughter and refused to give up on bringing her home. The mistake had briefly given Lily’s parents hope that she was safe.
Jim told Channel Seven at the time, reported by LADbible: “They’re going to get her now by the sound of it… she might be going straight to hospital I’d say”.
Lily’s mum, Kirrily, said she had washed her hair and ‘put my good sneakers on’ after hearing the initial update.
However, NSW Premier Chris Minns later corrected the information during a parliamentary hearing. He said: “I have got some terrible news. It seems as if the earlier advice was wrong.
“Lily’s body has been found. She’d been found deceased. This is obviously devastating, and I’m profoundly sad for her family and for all those concerned. I apologise.”
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon has also apologised for the mistake and said authorities would review what happened.
Lanyon said: “Yesterday’s miscommunication, as tragic as it was, was not born out of ill will”
“We want to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“It was a terrible set of circumstances. We will work through that.”
Officials have said communications were difficult during the large-scale search because teams were operating in remote and dense terrain.
Lily was described as an experienced hiker and keen adventurer who also worked part-time as a guide at BridgeClimb and had a passion for martial arts. Her body has since been recovered from the Southern Highlands, with a post-mortem set to help establish how she died.
Meanwhile, Lily’s local community has rallied around her family, with a vigil held at Willis Park in Oakdale in her memory.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also paid tribute to the teenager, saying: “Lily Hooper had so much more to offer the world. Her passing, I have no doubt, will be felt very deeply.”
Ben Williams