Police in Australia have admitted they are baffled by the case of Shannon Leah Fraser, who went missing in dense rainforest and stayed alive for 17 days by eating fish and insects before emerging 30m from where she disappeared.
Despite a massive operation involving helicopters, quad bikes and methodical searching through the area in northeast Australia, authorities were unable to locate Fraser, 30, who was eventually spotted by a banana farmer as she reappeared alone and almost naked.
The mother of three was found on Wednesday at 8am 30m from the popular Golden Hole swimming spot in northern Queensland, where she went missing after a picnic with her partner. "I don't know about miracles, but this is certainly pretty unique that a person has been able to survive in that terrain and that environment for almost 17 days," said Rhys Newton, a Queensland police inspector. He said that authorities were perplexed as to how Fraser was able to go undetected then emerge from the centre of the search zone.
Fraser has yet to speak publicly about her ordeal and is being treated in hospital for shock and badly burnt skin, parts of which had reportedly turned black. She reportedly told her family that she had lived off fish from the creek and insects, and had spent three days lying in the water to relieve her burns.
She said she cried herself to sleep each night and thought of her children - Jacob, 15, India, 9, and Takirah, 11 - to motivate herself to persevere.
