A woman missing for more than a week in the Snowy Mountains region has been found alive four days after she was reportedly bitten by a snake.
A search was launched for Lovisa “Kiki” Sjoberg, 48, on Monday 21 October after she was last seen driving a grey SUV in the Kosciuszko national park the previous Tuesday.
“About 4.50pm today … the woman was located injured by a National Parks and Wildlife Service officer on the Nungar Creek Trail at Kiandra,” New South Wales police said in a statement on Sunday.
“She was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics for exposure and what is believed to be a snake bite, before she was taken to Cooma district hospital in a stable condition.”
NSW police said Sjoberg had been in the elements and believed she had been bitten by a copperhead snake four days ago.
The snake’s “venom is powerfully neurotoxic, haemolytic and cytotoxic, and a bite from an adult of any of the species may be potentially fatal without medical assistance,” according to the Australian Museum.
The police force had previously said the 48-year-old photographer was known to frequent the Kiandra area and national parks around the Snowy Mountains.
The wide-scale search involved officers from the Monaro police district with assistance from the mounted unit, the dog unit, the SES, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Rural Fire Service and a Surf Life Saving helicopter. Members of the public also assisted.
“Police would like to thank those involved in the multi-agency search,” NSW police said on Sunday.
