SHE WAS REPORTED “FOUND ALIVE” — THEN THE TRUTH CAME MINUTES LATER

For eight days, 18-year-old Lily Hooper had been the focus of a massive search across the rugged bushland of Nattai National Park in New South Wales.

On Thursday, rescuers finally located her.

For a few extraordinary minutes, Lily’s family believed the nightmare was over.

THEY WERE TOLD SHE WAS ALIVE.

They were wrong.

Lily had been found deceased.

AN EIGHT-DAY SEARCH

Lily disappeared on August 12 after leaving her home in Oakdale for a hike.

Her vehicle was later located near the Bonnum Pic Walking Trail, prompting a huge multi-agency search involving police, SES volunteers, defence personnel and other emergency crews.

After more than a week, an SES volunteer located a body in dense bushland at around 11:30 a.m. Thursday. Police said it was believed to be Lily, although formal identification was still required at the time.

THEN CAME THE MESSAGE

Somehow, information passed through the search operation indicating that Lily had been found alive.

Her parents were informed.

The news travelled further, eventually reaching NSW Premier Chris Minns, who publicly announced that Lily had survived.

For roughly eight to 10 minutes, her family believed their daughter was coming home.

Then everything changed.

Premier Minns returned with the devastating correction:

“I’ve got some terrible news.”

The earlier information had been wrong.

POLICE APOLOGIZE

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon later apologized to Lily’s family for the communication failure and said authorities would review what happened.

Assistant Commissioner Joseph Cassar said the difficult terrain and communications challenges during the search contributed to the confusion.

The circumstances surrounding Lily’s death have not yet been established, and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

THE SEARCH IS OVER — BUT QUESTIONS REMAIN

Investigators now face two separate questions:

What happened to Lily in the wilderness?

How did incorrect information reach her family and senior officials before her condition was confirmed?

For Lily’s loved ones, however, the most painful part may be those few minutes when they thought they had finally received the news they had been praying for.

EIGHT DAYS OF WAITING.

TEN MINUTES OF HOPE.

THEN A TRAGIC CORRECTION.

Lily was 18.

Her family spent eight days hoping she would be brought home safely. The search eventually found her — but the brief moment when they were told she was alive made the final news even more devastating.