The family of a missing teenage hiker was wrongly told she had been found alive just minutes before learning she was dead in a police mix-up branded 'unforgivable' by a former detective.
Lily Hooper, 18, had been missing for eight days when search teams discovered her in dense vegetation in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia on Thursday. Initial information passed to her devastated family suggested the experienced bushwalker was alive - only for police to return around eight to 10 minutes later with the news that she had died.
The mistake also reached NSW Premier Chris Minns, who told a budget estimates hearing that Lily had been found alive in the bush with “half a bottle of water”. He returned minutes later to correct the announcement.
Police explain the short window of error
Assistant Commissioner Joseph Cassar said there had been a “short window” between SES volunteers locating Lily and confirmation of her death. He said: “I think it would be fair to say that they were informed (of)… initial information (from) the searchers believed that she was alive, and that’s what was communicated.”
“We, of course, get further information over time and it has been a very, very short period of time - in fact, between eight and 10 minutes - that we’re able to provide Lily’s parents with the updated status.”
Assistant Commissioner Cassar said officers had spoken to Lily’s parents with the “hope for a more positive outcome”. He said: “Unfortunately, that’s not the case. I cannot turn the clock back. If we were able to provide them more detailed information on that first report, I can tell you that would have been the case. But unfortunately, it did take that small period of time for us to give them an update.”
Questions over potential legal action
Questions are now being raised over the communication failure and what could happen next. RMIT Associate Professor of Criminology and Justice Dr Brianna Chesser said Lily’s family could potentially bring a negligence claim, although doing so would be difficult.
She told the Daily Mail: “Potentially, yes, they could sue under a claim of negligence. However, Australian courts have historically been reluctant to find that police owe a duty of care in relation to communications made in rapidly evolving or fluid situations.”
Dr Chesser said Section 148 of the Police Act 1990 generally protects police officers from liability for actions carried out in good faith. She added “The State would also maintain a broad immunity unless gross operational negligence can be established, which is a high threshold.”
She said the circumstances surrounding what happened could instead become part of the coronial process. She explained: "It is likely that Lily’s death will be the subject of a coronial inquiry and could be investigated as part of an inquest."
Former detective and politicians react
The explanation by police about the mix-up was branded 'unforgivable' by former detective Charlie Bezzina. He told the Daily Mail: "That gross delivery of misinformation is unforgivable. From the agony of her being missing, to the elation of being told she'd been found alive, then the slap in the face of being told it was wrong. That's a double whammy for the family. When you're dealing with human life, it's just unforgivable."
Lily had left her parents’ home on Burragorang Road at Oakdale, south-west of Sydney, at around 8am on August 12 to go walking. Her family raised the alarm later that night when she failed to return by 10pm, before her car was found near the start of a challenging trail in Nattai National Park.
A major search was launched involving police and emergency services, with almost 100 members of the Australian Defence Force also joining efforts to find her. Police said Lily’s body was discovered at around 11.30am on Thursday in an area of dense vegetation. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to the teenager in parliament, calling her death an unspeakable tragedy. He said: "Lily Hooper had so much more to offer the world. Her passing, I have no doubt, will be felt very deeply."
Opposition leader Angus Taylor, Lily’s local MP, said the initial reports that she had survived had made an already devastating situation even harder for her family. He said: “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.”
