The body of a young woman, believed to be 18-year-old Sydney bushwalker Lily Hooper, was located in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales at approximately 11:30 local time on Thursday, bringing an eight-day search to an end. Formal identification had not been completed at the time police announced the discovery, though officers said they believed the remains were hers.
Hooper had left her Sydney home on 12 August 2026 to walk in nearby Nattai National Park. When she failed to return by 10pm that evening, her family alerted police, sparking a search that would stretch across more than a week. Her vehicle was subsequently located in a car park at the base of a demanding trail within the park.
What caused confusion over her condition?
Conflicting information briefly circulated after New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told a parliamentary hearing that Hooper had been found alive, a claim local media reported had also reached her family. Minns later corrected the record before the same hearing, confirming that she had died.
"Lily's body has been found."
"This is obviously devastating, and I'm profoundly sad for her family and for all those concerned," said Minns, apologising to the committee for the earlier misstatement.
Separately, a later report from a national broadcaster's news service stated that Hooper had been found alive, a version that conflicts with the confirmation given by police and the Premier that her body had been recovered. Authorities had not publicly reconciled the discrepancy between these two accounts at the time of writing.
How was the search conducted?
The operation drew on multiple units of the NSW Police Force, including PolAir, the Rescue Unit, the Trail Bike Unit, the Mounted Unit and the Dog Unit, alongside the Rural Fire Service, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and close to 100 members of the Australian Defence Force. According to reporting on the search's sixth day, investigators had also been examining telecommunications data and deploying a thermal-imaging helicopter overnight in an effort to locate her.
What is known about her final movements?
Initial inquiries indicated Hooper reached the summit of Bonnum Pic around mid-morning on 12 August 2026 before contact with her was lost, according to a statement from NSW Police Force's public incident updates. Her car was found near the Bonnum Pic Walking Trail, and police said that, prior to Thursday's discovery, no trace of her or her belongings had been found. The search area covered roughly 90km south-west of Sydney across the rugged terrain of Nattai National Park, as detailed in coverage of the search's progress. Police had repeatedly appealed for anyone who walked the Bonnum Pic trail on 12 August 2026 to come forward to Crime Stoppers.
What happens next?
Police said a report on the circumstances of Hooper's death would be prepared for the coroner, according to a report on the case. Investigators are expected to continue examining the sequence of events on the trail as they work to establish exactly what happened after she reached the summit.
Key Facts
- Lily Hooper, 18, went missing on 12 August 2026 after walking in Nattai National Park near Sydney.
- A body believed to be hers was found in the Southern Highlands at about 11:30 local time on Thursday, roughly 90km south-west of Sydney.
- Premier Chris Minns initially told a parliamentary hearing she had been found alive before correcting himself to confirm her death.
- The search involved NSW Police units, the Rural Fire Service, National Parks and Wildlife Service and nearly 100 Australian Defence Force personnel, along with telecommunications data and a thermal-imaging helicopter.
- Police say a report will be prepared for the coroner and are still appealing for anyone who walked the Bonnum Pic trail on 12 August 2026 to contact Crime Stoppers.
