What happened to Lily Hooper? Tragic mixup as missing hiker found dead in Australia

20 Aug 2026 • 8:03 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

What happened to Lily Hooper? Tragic mixup as missing hiker found dead in Australia

  • The body of an 18-year-old woman, Lily Hooper, has been found over a week after she disappeared while hiking in New South Wales in Australia.
  • Although it was “yet to be formally identified”, a spokesperson for the NSW police said, “the body is believed to be that of the 18-year-old woman”.
  • NSW Premier Chris Minns apologised after initially saying that Ms Hooper had been “found alive”, telling a parliamentary hearing on Thursday: “It seems as if the earlier advice was wrong.”
  • An extensive search involving around 100 Australian Defence Force personnel began after Hooper’s vehicle was discovered abandoned close to the Bonnum Pic Walking Trail.
  • According to the police, Hooper’s family believed she was alive for about “eight to 10 minutes”, while assistant police commissioner Joseph Cassar did not directly explain why the parents were initially told as such.

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