A mother-of-three who was feared dead after going missing in the Australian outback staggered out of dense rainforest today after surviving on insects and river water for 17 days.
Shannon Fraser, 30, was found by a farmer when she stumbled from the forest near Josephine Falls in north Queensland.
The cancer patient today told relatives how she survived on creek water, insects and raw, tiny fish after becoming disoriented and lost.
Ms Fraser’s mother, Deidre Sharrock, who rushed to her daughter’s hospital bedside in Cairns, Queensland, admitted that everyone thought Ms Fraser was dead.
“Thank God she’s alive,” she said. “She’s badly burned, she’s lost a lot of weight.
“She’s got a lot of infected cuts from fighting the scrub. She told us she just sat in a creek for three days to soothe her cuts and burns.
“It’s incredible, it’s amazing. We all thought she was dead.”
Cairns police said Ms Fraser’s injuries were not life threatening and they hoped to speak to her later today.
Ms Fraser, from the Queensland town of Innisfail, was reported missing after setting out for a picnic at the Golden Hole swimming spot on September 21.
Her partner, Heath Cassady, told police that he left Ms Fraser sitting under shelter near the river and when he returned some five or 10 minutes later she had disappeared.
An intense search followed as teams of police officers and volunteers serached the area.
Helicopters also scoured the rainforest but there was no sign of the missing woman.
Fearing that she may have been killed or attacked by a crocodile, detectives were called in as the search went on.
Just three days ago, Police Inspector Rhys Newton said her chances of survival were “low”.
“If she is out there somewhere, it is likely she’d have perished by now,” he said.
