Police said a woman who was found in a remote Australian mountain range after going missing for almost two weeks was “dazed and unwell” but alive after suffering a snake bite in remote wilderness.
New South Wales Police said in a statement that Lovisa “Kiki” Sjoberg, 48, was found just before 5 p.m. local time Sunday in the Snowy Mountains region of Kosciuszko National Park, after a huge multi-agency search that involved two helicopters and dog teams.
She was last seen driving a hire car in the national park on Oct. 15. The search began when the hire company told police the vehicle had not been moved in six days and the lease had ended.
Monaro Police District Superintendent Toby Lindsay told a news conference Monday, reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, that the woman was “dazed and injured” and “quite unwell.”
“She advises she was bitten by a copperhead snake four days before being found and also rolled her ankle and she was suffering from dehydration,” he said. “We held grave concerns for the missing woman and [are] very glad she’s been found safe and reasonably well.”
More than 30 people were searching through thick scrubland every day, Lindsay added. Temperatures in the region have dropped as low as 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
Police said Sjoberg was was treated by paramedics at the scene for exposure and “what is believed to be a snake bite,” before being taken to Cooma District Hospital in a stable condition.
The Australian Museum in Sydney said on its website that copperhead snakes possess powerful neurotoxic venom and that a bite can be fatal without medical attention.
