A simple afternoon walk in the Alpine National Park turned into a frightening night lost alone in remote bushland for a woman on holiday.
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It was the second time in four days a poorly-prepared hiker had to rely on emergency services for rescue in the North East.
Sergeant Trevor Schultz, of Wangaratta police, said the 62-year-old from Melbourne was staying by herself at McNamara’s Hut near Dinner Plain on Saturday when she became lost.
The woman used her mobile to call a friend, who then contacted police for help about 2am Sunday.
“She realised she was lost at some point,” Sergeant Schultz said.
“She had hardly anything with her, so she wasn’t equipped for a night in the bush.”
Mount Hotham dropped to a low temperature of 3.6 degrees during the night.
Ground crews from Bright police along with the air wing unit from Melbourne started the search at first light Sunday.
Sergeant Schultz said clear conditions meant officers in the helicopter had good visibility from the sky.
He said they located the woman in flat terrain at 10am and police on the ground helped her to safety.
The woman had not gone far and was only within 500 metres of the hut where she was staying.
“I believe she’s in good health,” Sergeant Schultz said.
“She was without food and water for a period.”
Sergeant Schultz said the 62-year-old was old enough to know better than walking alone in remote bushland.
“We would advise people to be in pairs because in an environment like that, they could get into trouble,” he said.
“It’s for the community as well because sometimes we have to get SES volunteers involved.”
It was only Thursday that a dehydrated 66-year-old man called triple zero for help and was winched into a rescue helicopter on the Australian Alps Walking Track.
An air ambulance was also deployed to Wonnangatta as police gathered at Myrtleford for the rescue operation.
The air wing unit costs about $2000 an hour to run.
