Heartbreaking Police Blunder Leaves Lily Hooper’s Family With 18 Minutes of Hope Before Devastating Truth Emerges
The family of missing hiker Lily Hooper has endured a heartbreaking ordeal in which they where told she was found alive by searchers after a week missing in a national park – before they were later informed she had died.
Lily’s parents were initially informed that SES volunteers believed their daughter was alive after she was discovered in dense bushland in the NSW Southern Highlands shortly before 11.30am on Thursday.
But just 18 minutes later, the family received an updated report confirming the devastating news and that the earlier report was a mistake.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon on Thursday afternoon said he regretted that the family was given false hope.
‘I unashamedly apologise for any additional trauma which this might have caused Lily’s family,’ he said.
‘But certainly, for the embarrassment and confusion that caused, the miscommunication, obviously, was born out of elation that Lily had been found.
‘Tragically, that miscommunication then led to a deflation and impact on her family.
‘Once again, I unreservedly apologise for that miscommunication.’
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The body of missing hiker Lily Hooper has been found eight days after she disappeared in the NSW Southern Highlands
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A confusing radio call meant Lily’s family believed she was alive for 18 minutes after her body was found
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NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon apologised for the misleading radio call, in which searchers said Lily was ‘injured’ not deceased
Searchers sent a message over radios at 11.27am saying Lily had been found, to which operators requested they use a ‘water bottle analogy’ to confirm her condition, the Daily Telegraph reported.
‘Water bottle’ is a codeword used by searchers to avoid delivering upsetting news to those listening in on radios, in this case Lily’s family.
A volunteer told the radio ‘water bottle broken’, to which base operators responded: ‘You’ve found our MP (missing person), and they are injured; please relay your exact lat/long’.
The conversation immediately triggered confusion among Lily’s loved ones, who believed she was injured but alive.
Coordinators asked about Lily’s condition again at 11.45am, to which an SES volunteer confirmed she was ‘deceased’.
Heartbreaking footage showed Lily’s parents and siblings smiling, crying and hugging after hearing she was ‘injured’.
‘They’re going to get her now by the sounds of it,’ her father, Jim Hooper, told 7News.
‘Let’s wait to see her. She might be going straight to hospital, I’d say.’
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Lily’s loved ones toasted to her (above) after initially hearing she was ‘injured’, before news came through that she had died
Mr Hooper had brought his daughter’s favourite snack, classic TimTams, and her guitar to the search site on Thursday.
‘This morning I thought, “Oh TimTams! It might lure her out of the bush”,’ he said.
Lily’s mother, Kirrily Hooper, said she was glad she’d ‘washed my hair and put my good sneakers on’ to welcome her daughter home.
‘Today is the day so we’re really excited,’ Ms Hooper said.
Loved ones gathered around to cheers a few cans together while waiting to hear when they’d be reunited with Lily.
‘I was never going to give up. She’s a beautiful girl and she’s coming home,’ Mr Hooper said.
It was only minutes later they learned Lily had died.
‘I think it would be fair to say that they were informed that the initial information [was] that the searchers believed that she was alive, and that’s what was communicated,’ Assistant Commissioner Joseph Cassar APM, Southern Region Commander told reporters on Thursday afternoon.
‘But like I said, within the eight to 10 minutes, we were able to give an update, which was a more accurate account of the discovery.’
Police said the vast search area was covered in thick and dense bushland, with much of it extremely difficult to navigate.
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The experienced hiker’s body was found eight days after she disappeared while hiking in the Nattai National Park
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Rescuers were seen comforting devastated loved ones near the site on Thursday morning
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Searchers confirmed Lily was ‘deceased’ over the radio at 11.45am on Thursday
Search teams were relying on handheld communication devices to relay information back to the command post, which police acknowledged could prove challenging in the rugged terrain.
‘They’re carrying handheld communication devices, and as you can appreciate, we’ve all experienced it. Sometimes the communication is a challenge,’ Asst. Commissioner Cassar said.
He said Lily’s mother and father had spent a significant amount of time at the command post and were in regular contact with an inspector and family liaison officer.
The police defended the decision to pass on the initial information, saying officers had sought to keep the family updated at every stage rather than withholding developments until every detail had been confirmed.
‘There’s no playbook to communication,’ he said.
‘Sometimes due to whatever the circumstances may be, whether it’s not an accurate report or communication challenges, sometimes the information provided isn’t as accurate as first is received.
‘But that’s why we continually get updates on this situation.’
Asst. Commissioner Cassar was also pressed on whether officers should have done more to verify that Lily was alive before passing the information on to her parents.
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When asked by reporters what he would like to say to Lily’s family, Asst. Commissioner Cassar said he hoped he could ‘turn the clock back’
He rejected suggestions police had ‘jumped the gun’, but said circumstances surrounding the mistake would be examined.
‘We’re talking about hundreds of volunteer people that are trained in searching. We’re talking about thick, dense terrain,’ he said.
‘We are talking about processes that we’ve adopted to engage the family members to keep them informed throughout every step of the way.
‘When we talk about a very short window in information being provided, no, I don’t believe we’ve jumped the gun.
‘But I will tell you that will form part of the investigation.’
The mix-up had led NSW Premier Chris Minns to announce at a budget estimates hearing that Lily had been found alive in the bush with ‘half a bottle of water’.
Minutes later, he told the same inquiry that Lily was dead: ‘She has been found deceased, and I only raise that because I gave earlier advice.’
Minns then issued an apology via a statement shortly after speaking in NSW Parliament: ‘Advice I received earlier today relating to Lily Hooper was incorrect. I genuinely believed I was sharing good news.
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NSW Police are reportedly working with local officers to determine how the error was made
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Family and friends were seen consoling each other at the search’s command post
‘My deepest condolences are with Lily’s family. I am profoundly sorry to think that anything I said may have added to their heartbreak at an already devastating time.’
Commissioner Lanyon later said he’d also apologised to Minns for the incorrect information.
‘The miscommunication obviously went through policing commands and up to government and has been reported widely,’ he said.
‘It was something that was inadvertent, but as I said, was borne out of looking to find Lily and bring her back to her family.
‘It goes through a range of police commands, to the minister for police, and then to the premier’s office.’
Lily’s body is expected to be recovered from the bushland ‘by foot’ due to the rough terrain making air extrication too difficult.
Asst. Commissioner Cassar said while he couldn’t give a definitive timeline on the retrieval, he knew it would take ‘longer than hours.’
The Hoopers’ next door neighbour, Martin Macri, told the Daily Mail that Lily’s family had been out every day and evening, not returning until late during the search.
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Nearly 100 Australian Defence Force members joined the search for Lily, alongside NSW Police, NSW SES and the Lifesaver 21 rescue helicopter crew
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She was last seen leaving her parents’ home on Burragorang Road at Oakdale at about 8am last Wednesday, August 12
He said now the family ‘would be back even later, with the body and all’.
Mr Macri described the confusion over whether Lily was found alive as ‘crushing for the family’.
He’d been at work when he’d initially heard Lily was alive, only to be given the heartbreaking update.
‘They are a lovely family. She’s a lovely girl. Very pretty, blonde, blue eyes, very fit. She did karate or something. They are all fit,’ he said.
The news comes just days after Lily’s heartbroken family thanked authorities for their ‘desperate’ efforts as search teams continued to scour the bushland.
‘We would like to thank all the emergency services and volunteers for their support and continued commitment to the search, not only during the day but throughout the night,’ they said.
‘We desperately want to bring Lily home safe and we ask as the search continues, to keep our family and Lily in your thoughts.’
Lily’s father Jim Hooper previously asked the public to send out ‘love and energy’ in the hopes authorities would find his daughter alive.
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Hikers have described the trek as involving extensive rock scrambling and bush bashing
‘I’m very upset. I just want everyone to cross their fingers,’ he told 2SM on Monday.
‘I just want everyone to throw love and energy because we’ve got to go and find her. She’s got to be in there somewhere. It’s been too long.’
The grim discovery follows search and rescue teams navigated through challenging terrain, with the Bonnum Pic trek involving extensive rock scrambling, bush bashing and difficult route finding.
A popular trail guide app, which describes the 16-kilometre trail as ‘strenuous’, warns hikers to ‘proceed cautiously’ on the route.
‘Generally considered a highly challenging route, it should only be attempted by experienced adventurers. This trail is great for hiking and walking, and it’s unlikely you’ll encounter many other people while exploring,’ the app states.
It also warns there is a ‘weak’ and ‘unreliable’ mobile signal on the route.
‘Definitely download maps as trail was often hard to find in [the] middle section. Would not recommend to do solo as we had safety in numbers,’ one local hiker warned.
Another said: ‘We did find ourselves off track and doing a fair bit of bush bashing to get back on track.’
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
