Father of teen Lily Hooper found dead sends message to police after they said she was still alive
The family of the Sydney teenager reported missing last week thought for eight-long minutes that she was still alive until officials revealed they had made a mistake.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told a parliamentary hearing that 18-year-old Lily Hooper, who went on a hike in Nattai National Park on 12 August, was alive.
Her father, Jim Hooper, said to Channel Seven at the time that ‘they’re going to get her now by the sound of it… she might be going straight to hospital I’d say’.
Lily’s mum, Kirrily, said she had washed her hair and ‘put my good sneakers on’ following the hope of seemingly good news.
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Shortly afterwards, however, Minns told the hearing that Lily had died and that her ‘body has been found’.
"This is obviously devastating, and I'm profoundly sad for her family and for all those concerned," said Minns, who apologised.
Assistant Police Commissioner Joseph Cassar revealed on Thursday that he did not know exactly what was said to the Hooper family, but that if he ‘could turn the clock back, I would certainly’.
Lily’s father Jim has since broke his silence over the communications blunder, saying that he holds ‘no anger’ following the unfortunate mix-up, 7News reports.
He told the outlet that he is grateful for the lengths that rescue parties, NSW Police and volunteers from the SES, tried their best to recover his daughter.
The experienced hiker left her family to head through the 17km Bonnum Pic trail, described as a difficult and barely visible path.
After her loved ones reporting her missing later that evening, her vehicle was found at the bottom of the trail, as police located her body the following morning.
Officials are yet to reveal Hooper’s cause of death.
“I cannot give you the exact distance but I can tell you that it was not on a clear, walkable track,” Cassar said.
“That will form part of the brief for the coroner, but it was some significant distance away from where the vehicle was parked.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called Lily’s passing an unspeakable tragedy.
"Lily Hooper had so much more to offer the world. Her passing, I have no doubt, will be felt very deeply," he said.
Opposition leader Angus Taylor added: "We can only imagine what Lily's family is going through right now. Such news would be a nightmare for any parent, and we grieve for Lily's wider family."
Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon promised today that it will never 'happen again'.
“Yesterday’s miscommunication, as tragic as it was, was not born out of ill will,” Lanyon said.
“We want to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“It was a terrible set of circumstances. We will work through that.”
Members of the community have been invited to a vigil in her memory in Willis Park, as mourners have been encouraged to bring LED lights and candles, but to avoid open flames.
“This is simply a place where we can come together, in our own time and in our own way, to remember Lily and be there for one another,” Wollondilly mayor Matt Gould wrote on Facebook.
“Let’s light up Willis Park for Lily.”
Anish Vij