Missing teen hiker Lily Hooper found dead after disappearing in NSW national park a week ago

Initial report from ‘thick and dense terrain’ where Hooper was located was she had been found alive but within 10 minutes a ‘more accurate account’ was relayed to police

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The body of missing 18-year-old bushwalker Lily Hooper has been found in a remote New South Wales national park more than a week after she set out on her hike.

Police have apologised “unreservedly” for wrongly suggesting Hooper had been alive when she was found by SES search volunteers off the walking trail in the state’s southern highlands on Thursday morning.

The assistant commissioner Joe Cassar said SES search volunteers initially reported at 11.30am that the teenager had been found alive in “thick and dense terrain” in Nattai national park about 90km south-west of Sydney .

However, within 10 minutes, the search crew relayed a “more accurate account” to police confirming Hooper was dead.

“There’s no playbook to communication,” Cassar told reporters in Moss Vale on Thursday afternoon.

Her body was not expected to be retrieved for many hours, NSW police said.

The commissioner, Mal Lanyon, told reporters in Goulburn on Thursday the miscommunication about Hooper being found was “born out of elation”.

“Tragically that miscommunication then led to a deflation and obviously, we know now, an impact on her family,” Lanyon said.

“I unashamedly apologise for any additional trauma that may have caused Lily’s family, but certainly for the embarrassment and confusion that caused.”

The assistant commissioner said Hooper’s parents had been at the search command post and were being kept “well informed” by police. The family was told of the initial report that Hooper was alive before the devastating update came through from the scene using hand-held radios.

“I cannot turn the clock back,” Cassar said. “If we were able to provide them more detailed information on that first report, I can tell you that would have been the case.”

Earlier on Thursday, police had told media a “hiker” had been found after the multi-agency search and the NSW premier, Chris Minns, told parliament Hooper had been “found alive” with half a bottle of water.

But a short time later, Minns announced: “I’ve got some terrible news. I apologise … Lily’s body has been found.”

Minns later said in a statement he had received incorrect advice and “genuinely believed” he was sharing good news. “My deepest condolences are with Lily’s family,” the premier said. “I am profoundly sorry to think that anything I said may have added to their heartbreak at an already devastating time.”

Hooper was found off the trail a “significant distance” from her car, which was parked near the trail head on Wanganderry Road at High Range, Cassar said.

The assistant commissioner said it was not yet clear how she died or if she had sustained injuries. He said her body would likely be brought out by foot as air retrieval was “exceptionally difficult”.

A report will be prepared for the coroner, investigating the time, place and circumstances of Hooper’s death, as well as the search and communications issues. Cassar said criminal investigators from the Hume police district were gathering evidence in line with police protocol.

Hooper left her Sydney home on Wednesday 12 August for the hike. Initial police inquiries suggested she reached the summit of Bonnum Pic mountain mid-morning on Wednesday, having sent messages from the trail earlier that day.

She was reported missing when she did not return home that evening. Emergency services located her car late that night.

Lanyon said nearly 1,000 people had joined the search on the ground over the last week.

More than 100 ADF personnel had joined the search operation in the past 24 hours. The army personnel joined people from PolAir, NSW police, the SES, RFS, Fire and Rescue NSW, and the National Parks and Wildlife Service. A rescue helicopter and police helicopters were engaged.

Volunteers on the ground included Hooper’s family, family and Volunteer Rescue Association crews mobilised from as far north as Cessnock.

The SES said 260 volunteer members trained in bush search and rescue were on the ground from Saturday to Thursday.

On Monday, police said the search was focused on the lower sections of the Bonnum Pic walking trail. Police were uncertain what supplies Hooper had with her.

Police have said Hooper was believed to have been an experienced hiker.

The NSW police chief inspector Brendan Bernie said on Monday: “We’re hopefully relying on Lily’s experience to get her through this ordeal and [we] can locate her safely.”

Poor weather over the weekend had hampered search operations in the already complex terrain.

Outdoor recreation website AllTrails describes the Bonnum Pic hike as a “formidable challenge,” noting some hikers recommend using rope to negotiate “steep, exposed sections”.

“Post-fire regrowth has made the trail overgrown and difficult to identify … [and] the path frequently disappears,” the site’s description reads.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said on Thursday that Hooper’s death was an “unspeakable tragedy”.

“Lily Hooper had so much more to offer the world,” Albanese said.

“Her passing … will be felt very deeply across the southern highlands, among her family, her friends, and indeed right across the nation.”

Angus Taylor, the federal opposition leader and the local MP for the electorate where the Hooper family live, paid tribute, too.

“Any parent who reads this news will hug their children tighter tonight,” he said.

“When they do, they will spare a thought and a prayer for Lily’s mother, father, and family who can’t do the same. We grieve for their most terrible loss.”