Australian police found the body of an 18-year-old girl who had been missing since last week, after officers conducted an extensive search lasting more than 8 days. The body was discovered in a forest not far from the city of Sydney.
Foreign news agencies reported on Thursday, 20 Aug 2026 GMT+7 that police in Australia found the body of a young woman in a forested area of New South Wales during an 8-day search for a Sydney teenager who had been reported missing the previous Wednesday.
Police stated that although the identification has not been officially confirmed, the body is believed to be that of Lily Hooper, an 18-year-old teenager who went missing. This followed the New South Wales governor informing parliament that she had been found alive before later retracting that statement.
Reports indicate that Hooper left her Sydney home to hike in nearby Nattai National Park on 12 August. Her family reported her missing that same night after she failed to return by the agreed time of 10:00 p.m.
Her car was found parked at the trailhead parking lot within Nattai National Park.
Multiple agencies joined forces to search for Hooper continuously for 8 days until Thursday, 20 August, when local police announced they had found a body believed to be Hooper’s in the Southern Highlands area at around 11:30 a.m. local time. Her remains were located in a densely vegetated area.
Earlier, confusion arose about Hooper’s status after New South Wales Governor Chris Minns told the parliamentary session that she had been found alive. Local media also reported that her family was informed she was still alive.
However, Minns later corrected his statement during the session, saying, “Lily’s body has been found,” and that she had died.
“This is a deeply distressing matter, and I express my sincere condolences to her family and everyone involved,” Minns said, also apologizing to parliament. He did not specify what had happened to the teenager.
Meanwhile, Mal Lanyon, New South Wales Police Commissioner, told reporters he apologized for the “communication error” involved, while Deputy Commissioner Joseph Kasser did not directly answer questions about how Hooper’s family was initially informed she was alive.
He said there was a window of about 8 to 10 minutes before the teenager’s parents received an update on her true status and added that he was unsure what had been communicated to the Hooper family during that time.
.bbc