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The body of 18-year-old bushwalker Lily Hooper has been recovered from dense bushland in the NSW Southern Highlands, hours after it was discovered by a search and rescue team following an eight-day search.<\/p>\n
The body was retrieved after 6pm on Thursday, a police source confirmed to the Herald.<\/p>\n
The body was discovered in scrub in the Nattai National Park by an SES rescuer about 11.30am on Thursday. Initial reports from the rescuers led to confusion about whether Hooper was alive, before updated information conveyed to the search operation\u2019s command post confirmed she had died.<\/p>\n
An autopsy to determine the circumstances and cause of Hooper\u2019s death is expected to take place in the coming days, but could begin on Friday. Formal identification will also occur soon.<\/p>\n
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon has shouldered the blame for the communication error that led to the belief Hooper was alive.<\/p>\n
The incorrect information was passed to Premier Chris Minns, who announced to a budget estimates committee that Hooper had been found alive on Thursday, just to withdraw the news minutes later.<\/p>\n
\u201cI unashamedly apologise for any additional trauma that may have caused Lily\u2019s family,\u201d Lanyon said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe miscommunication obviously was born out of elation that Lily had been found, and her condition at that time was such that searchers were relieved \u2026 Tragically, that miscommunication then led to a deflation.\u201d<\/p>\n
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