Lily Hooper’s mother washed her hair and put on her best shoes to welcome her daughter home… but all that awaited her was her daughter’s lifeless b0.dy
A message relayed through police and rescue teams gave the family and friends of missing hiker Lily Hooper hope she had been found alive after a desperate eight-day search.
But that hope was dashed just minutes later as an incorrectly used code phrase is believed to have caused the confusion, which spread all the way to NSW Premier Chris Minns.
Search efforts returned to the the Nattai National Park, in the NSW Southern Highlands, on Thursday in hopes of finally locating the 18-year-old after she vanished without a trace on August 13.
They had focused efforts to the Bonnum Pic walking trail, which Hooper had hiked along earlier in the day. One of her last known communications was sending her family a photo from the summit of the trail.
After more than a week of mostly-fruitless searches through the dense bushland, a rescue team found Hooper.
Police initially said the teenager had miraculously been found alive, with family and friends celebrating at the police command post nearby.
The news also reached premier Chris Minns who announced it in the state’s parliament.
But police retracted the information and instead confirmed the 18-year-old had died, leaving her loved ones heartbroken.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday afternoon, NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon offered an “unreserved” apology for the error.
“I unashamedly apologise for any additional trauma that may have caused Lily’s family, but certainly for the embarrassment and confusion that caused,” Lanyon said.
What was the miscommunication?
Lanyon said the miscommunication was “born out of elation that Lily had been found”.
He explained that Lily was found in a “remote” area and the message may have passed through “a number of hands” before reaching the command post.
7NEWS understands a coded phrase used to identify if a person has been found alive was relayed somewhere along that chain of communication and received by the police command centre.
“Her condition at that time was such that searchers were relieved, and certainly those at the command post relayed,” Lanyon said.
While another code word, identifying someone had been found dead, was relayed within eight to 10 minutes later, the error had already been disseminated.
“Tragically, that miscommunication then led to a deflation, and obviously we know now an impact on her family,” Lanyon said.
“Once again, I unreservedly apologise for that miscommunication.”
Hooper’s father Jim Hooper had brought her guitar and favourite chocolate, Tim Tams, to the search efforts on Thursday in hopes of finding the 18-year-old alive.
“I was never going to give up. She’s a beautiful girl,” Jim said.
Her mother Kirrily had washed her hair and worn her good sneakers as they thought they were finding their daughter alive.
A coronial inquest will be held into Hooper’s death, which is expected to include how the false information was spread
SOURCE: 7 NEWS
https://7news.com.au/news/lily-hooper-code-word-mix-up-behind-devastating-police-update-on-missing-hiker-c-22756716
