The daughter of an 87-year-old bushwalker, who endured a freezing night lost in Western Australia, has shared her relief after finding her mum safe and sound.
The grandmother survived on nothing but a packet of raisins until she was luckily found on alive Saturday afternoon.
The bushwalker had set off on Friday along a track near Donnelly River Village, about 280 kilometres south of Perth, but took a wrong turn.
“Mum, who’s unstoppable and has just gotten new hips, decided she really wanted to do a walk,” her daughter Jo said.
As temperatures dropped to 6 degrees overnight, the 87-year-old spent hours alone in dense bushland.
“I thought I wasn’t gonna see my mum again,” Jo said.
“I really didn’t think she was coming back.”
The alarm was raised by 8pm on Friday, prompting a large-scale search.
Family members and emergency services scoured tracks through the night, while helicopters and drones searched from above.
“We did all the trails and forestry tracks on our bikes and walking for the whole night, and didn’t find her,” Jo said.
She was eventually located about two kilometres from where she had started, after her phone managed to call Triple Zero.
“She was sitting on a jarra log, waiting here obediently, eating her little packet of raisins,” Jo said.
The grandmother was found exhausted and dehydrated but otherwise unharmed.
Authorities say the incident is a reminder for walkers to be prepared, as more people head into remote areas without adequate supplies.
“Take extra water, take a little bit of extra food, extra clothing, maybe some form of shelter,” bush survival expert Terry Hewett said.
“A four to six or maybe eight-hour walk could end up being an overnight event.”
Image: 9News
