Source : Perth Now news
New details have emerged about how teenage hiker Lily Hooper died after disappearing during a solo bushwalk in the NSW Southern Highlands.
The 18-year-old set off on a trail in Nattai National Park on August 12 for what was meant to be a day hike.
Her body was found in dense bushland eight days later following a gruelling search involving hundreds of emergency services personnel and volunteers.
Preliminary reports indicate Hooper suffered a fall and died on the first day she went missing.
“Preliminary reports said Lily had a fall, she had an accident that first afternoon, she died the day she went missing and was found lying peacefully in dense bushland,” her mother, Kirrily Hooper, told The Daily Telegraph.
“In hindsight we now know she passed quickly and she didn’t suffer in the cold.
“That was the hardest part, not knowing if she was out there scared in the elements when we would come home at night and try to sleep.”
Hooper had planned to attend a martial arts training session at Bujutsu Martial Arts and Fitness Centre before heading to her boyfriend’s home after the hike.
When she failed to arrive at her boyfriend’s home as expected, he contacted her sister, prompting the search for the missing teenager.
Hooper, who worked as a tour guide at Sydney Harbour Bridge’s BridgeClimb, was remembered by her father Jim Hooper as “unstoppable” and “fearless”.
“She just loved the outdoors. She just had so many skills that, you know, we tried to install in her. Yeah, she was just a clever kid who wasn’t afraid to take anything on. That was her free spirit,” he said.
Jim walked the track his daughter took and believes he has some idea what may have happened.
“I did walk the track, it’s a hectic track, I was surprised she took it on. I think it was on dark and she got disorientated and she headed in a direction that she didn’t walk in on,” he said.
“Like I said the bush can swallow you up.”
Jim said he had previously tried to discuss bush safety with his daughter, but like many teenagers, she was confident in her abilities.
“I locked horns with her about this sort of stuff which saddens me in a lot of ways because there was a lot of you know ‘what do you know dad’ stuff and you know kids think they know better,” he said.
Hooper’s family is now calling for better bush safety education and greater awareness of emergency tracking devices for young people venturing into remote areas.
“We think it’d be good if there was a legacy that was left like a Skye’s Law, Jack’s Law … Lily’s Law,” Jim said.
“And that’s about the awareness of going out in the bush with EPIRBs, tracker devices, Garmin, Navman type devices.”
