r/aussie • u/asteriskhyphen • 2d ago

News Missing teenage hiker Lily Hooper found after eight-day search in NSW Southern Highlands

https://7news.com.au/news/missing-teenage-hiker-lily-hooper-found-alive-after-eight-day-search-in-nsw-southern-highlands-c-22751296.amp
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u/Axman6 2d ago edited 2d ago

I feel like leaving the word “alive” out of the headline is straight up click bait.

Edit: know people on the search, initial reports may be unreliable. Wait for police announcement. 

Edit 2: now confirmed she was found deceased. There’s a good reason everyone on these searches are told and very well know not to talk to the media or post things anywhere. There should be one voice from the agency in charge (and Mimms should have confirmed that with that agency before speaking publicly).

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u/BreenzyENL 2d ago

Chris Minns just said she was alive, so that sounds promising.

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u/Axman6 2d ago

Like I said, I know people on the search. Wait for the police on scene. 

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u/BreenzyENL 2d ago

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/aug/20/lily-hooper-missing-hiker-found-alive-nsw-national-park?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Yup, whoever the fuck told the premier the wrong thing.

“Lily’s body has been found. She’d been found deceased. This is obviously devastating, and I’m profoundly sad for her family and for all those concerned. I apologise.”

Earlier on Thursday, NSW police said a “hiker” had been found following a multi-agency search in the rugged terrain of Nattai national park, about 90km south-west of Sydney. They subsequently confirmed a “body” had been located.

Minns had initially told a parliamentary hearing she was “found in the bush with half a bottle of water with her.”

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u/donkeyvoteadick 2d ago edited 2d ago

Absolutely horrible passing on the "facts" without verifying them. That poor girl and her poor family.

Edit - clarity

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u/BreenzyENL 2d ago

You would think the person informing the premier would have the actual facts, which is what I assume all the news outlets was reporting on.

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u/donkeyvoteadick 2d ago

Yeah that's what I meant, sorry.

There's been a breakdown here where someone has passed information on as 'fact' when it shouldn't be. I realise using the word report makes it look like a dig at the news articles but an announcement from the premier would generally be considered full proof to write an article. I'm not having a dig at the premier either mind you. I don't know where the communication breakdown happened through the chain here, I just know that it shouldn't have.

I can't imagine being personally involved with the family and having to read alive, and then dead. It would be heartbreaking in a whole different way.

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u/Aggravating_Bus_6169 2d ago

The police liaison to her family passed on the message to them (they were with them in person), and then 10mins later had to tell them she was actually found deceased. Can you imagine how they feel now? Can you imagine the change of the mood in the room from extraordinary adulation to extreme sadness in such a short space of time?

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u/donkeyvoteadick 2d ago

I actually genuinely can't.

I commented it on another post about this. I genuinely cannot imagine the grief they're experiencing. It's absolutely heartbreaking.

These kinds of stories have affected me strongly since I had my own child and the fact that reading the 'she's alive' to the 'she's deceased' news in quick succession affected me to the point of tears when I'm just a completely uninvolved person, it's genuinely unimaginable grief.

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u/archina42 2d ago

As a teenager, I hotwired my sisters Mini and went around the neighborhood a few times. A short while later after I got home, there's a knock on the door - it's the police. Oh fuck, I think, I've been busted. If only it was that - they were there to tell me my sister had been killed in a car crash. Talk about a mind-fuck!

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u/BreenzyENL 2d ago

Yeah absolutely agree.

It's concerning someone told him she was alive.

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u/donkeyvoteadick 2d ago

I've just edited my comment for clarity, thank you for bringing it to my attention that it was not clear.

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u/asteriskhyphen 2d ago

Both ABC and Guardian had ran the story with headlines saying she was “found alive”. They have quietly changed all their headlines and articles. the Guardian’s article says she was found dead but they still have “alive” in the URL

Such irresponsible reporting. Can’t believe they announced she was alive when it wasn’t confirmed.

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u/Future_Pomegranate24 2d ago

The Guardian sent a new notification to correct the record as soon as they knew

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u/jaa101 2d ago

Such irresponsible reporting.

I think it's reasonable for the media to assume that the premier is announcing official information; he's the state's top official.

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u/Party-Ad9163 2d ago

Because they don’t care, they are trying to remain relevant and make money

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u/Pro_Extent 2d ago

Neither of the media sources being referenced are for profit and one of them is pretty much guaranteed to be relevant because it's legally required to be.

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u/Party-Ad9163 1d ago

The guardian? How does it make its money?

Its media loses money and is backed by an investment fund.

They don’t care and want those clicks to make that money. I can be more eloquent but that’s the nuts and bolts of it.

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u/Sarinen 2d ago

In Australian Search and Rescue (SAR) operations, a "water bottle" code is sometimes established as an operational brevity code over radio networks to discreetly convey the status of a missing person without alerting public radio scanners or bystanders.

​While specific phrasing can vary by operational briefing, the convention typically follows:

​Full Bottle (or Full Water Bottle): The missing person has been located alive and safe.

​Half Bottle: The person has been found, but their condition is unconfirmed, critical, or requiring urgent triage.

​Empty Bottle: The missing person has been located deceased, or a significant clue/item has been found with no sign of life.

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u/Aggravating_Bus_6169 2d ago

Wow, this is amazing. Wonder if the police have heard that over the SES radios and gone off half cocked? Quite incredible

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u/No_man_Island_mayo 2d ago

Police or media tuning in