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SYDNEY — On Wednesday morning, a woman walked out of the Queensland rainforest alive after being lost for 17 days.
Shannon Fraser, 30, told her family she survived the ordeal by eating insects and drinking river water, ABC News reported.
Fraser, from Innisfail, had lost 17 kilograms during the ordeal and was extremely sunburnt and dehydrated when she emerged from the Golden Hole swimming spot near Josephine Falls in far north Queensland.
The mother of three had been missing since Sunday, Sept. 21. and police feared she had met with foul play or been taken by a crocodile.
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Her brother, Dylan, told ABC Fraser had followed her partner, Heath Cassady, into the rugged terrain three weeks ago. In the course of the journey, the newly-engaged couple became separated.
"She must have taken a wrong turn, and got lost," Dylan said. "I honestly didn't know what to believe, there were so many stories flying around, the police didn't have much of a lead."
To survive, Fraser lay in the cool, fresh water of the falls to soothe her burns, ate small fish and insects and eventually followed markers left by the search team back to a picnic area. A farmer saw her emerge from the bush and rushed her to the hospital to be treated. Her clothes had been ripped off by the trees, her brother said.
He was elated his sister had been found alive after so long in the wilderness.
"She was that exhausted, she couldn't walk, she just felt like giving up," Dylan said. "She just stayed strong, and made it out."
Her partner, who reported her missing and helped lead the search, said it was a miraculous survival, but he had never given up hope.
"Her whole body is scarred and peeling, she’s been through a lot,” Cassady told News Limited. “It is amazing she’s still alive.”
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She was treated at Innisfail Hospital for third-degree burns, cuts, grazes and welts from insect bites.
Queensland Health confirmed on Wednesday Fraser's "condition and symptoms are consistent with an extended period in the bush."
Queensland Police released a brief statement saying an "Innisfail woman reported missing from the Josephine Falls area on September 21 has been located safe and well."
Earlier, Police Inspector Rhys Newton appealed to the public for information after the search involving 25 personnel around the swimming hole failed to turn up any information.
“In 5-10 minutes you can be in very difficult terrain in that area. You’d be in quite thick, dense, jungle and may become disorientated,” he said in a statement on Sept. 23.
Fraser is expected to speak to authorities in three days, after her condition improves.
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