Woman found after two weeks in Australian outback but two others still missing
A woman who was stranded in the arid central Australian outback for almost two weeks has been rescued, but a search was continuing on Monday for her two friends.
Tamra McBeath-Riley, 52, was being treated in an Alice Springs hospital for dehydration and exposure after she was found late on Sunday, Police Superintendent Pauline Vicary said.
However, an air search was continuing on Monday for her friends Claire Hockridge, 46, and Phu Tran, 40.
The three set out from Alice Springs for an afternoon drive on November 19 and their car became bogged in a riverbed southwest of the town.
Ms McBeath-Riley found water about one mile north of the car.
“Sensibly she appears to have stayed where the water is and has been drinking that and that’s probably what kept her going,” Supt. Vicary told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
A note left in the vehicle and dated November 21 suggested the other two had headed west.
A cattle farmer played a key role in saving the woman, telling police he had spotted tire tracks in an area that had not been searched.
“As a result of that information, we were able to locate the vehicle and then from there they have followed some of the other tracks and have located her,” Supt. Vicary said.
