A 36-year-old Colombian national missing in remote Queensland rainforest for five days without supplies was found alive by members of the public, police say.
Juliana Castrillon was located on Wednesday afternoon about 1km off the loosely marked track she was hiking south of Cooktown.
Castrillon – who has lived in Australia for a decade – was seen on Saturday morning setting off alone on the 14km trek from Cedar Bay to Home Rule after attending an unofficial rainforest party.
She was reported missing on Sunday and authorities conducted two days of aerial searches before police and the SES began a ground search on Wednesday. Queensland police said crocodiles, venomous snakes, deep ravines and treacherous waterways were all “concerns in relations to survivability”.
Sources said two men found Castrillon on Wednesday afternoon and alerted SES volunteers who helped walk the group out of the rainforest.
A police spokesperson said the 36-year-old was weak but otherwise in good health and uninjured. She was found about 1km off the loosely marked track by Granite Creek, they said.
Castrillon had spent several days in Cedar Bay with local people, backpackers and others who had attended the nearby spiritual electronic music festival Orin Aya on the weekend of 3-4 September.
Family and friends had held grave fears for Castrillon after she failed to arrive at her destination of Home Rule on Saturday evening. They said she was reliable, responsible and determined to return to Byron Bay by Monday to open her shop Byron Bay Traders.
