What we know about missing backpacker Carolina Wilga's movements

As the search for German backpacker Carolina Wilga enters another day, we take a look at what we know about the 26-year-old's disappearance already deemed "unusual" and "concerning" by police.

Ms Wilga had been living and working in Western Australia for the past two years. 

She worked on mine sites in regional WA, before heading to Fremantle on Perth's coast. 

She then bought a Mitsubishi van and headed north-east — police said she expressed an interest in travelling to regional and remote areas, as well as the east coast.

Just two days into her journey, Ms Wilga’s friends and family lost contact with her, and police were notified of her disappearance in WA's vast and remote Wheatbelt region. 

Police found her van on rough terrain in the remote Karroun Hill Reserve on Thursday, but there was no sign of Ms Wilga anywhere near the abandoned vehicle, which police believe "suffered mechanical issues".

Here’s everything we know about Ms Wilga's movements in the days before her disappearance. 

June 28 – Fremantle departure

A friend told the ABC she last saw Ms Wilga at the Sundance Backpackers hostel in Fremantle the day she left Perth on June 28.

Her friend, who did not want to be named, said Ms Wilga had wanted to head to the east coast for some time.

Another friend was in contact with Ms Wilga twice that day — receiving a text message at 7am from Ms Wilga saying she was no longer going to drop off a book and a jerry can as she had "some stuff she needed to handle". 

Around 4:28pm, CCTV footage shows Ms Wilga driving into a petrol station on Stirling Terrace in Toodyay. 

She pulls up at a bowser and gets out to fill her car, before heading inside to pay. 

Ten minutes later, around 4:38pm, Ms Wilga’s friend receives another message, this time a voice recording in which a female voice is heard saying: "I just couldn’t wait anymore. Uggh. I felt tired."

Then at 4:41pm, CCTV captures her leaving the Toodyay petrol station, after which police believe she made the 230 kilometre journey north-east to Beacon, stopping in Dowerin on the way.  

June 29 – Last sighting in Beacon

At 12:10pm on June 29, Ms Wilga was seen at a general store in Beacon, about 300km north-east of Perth. 

This is the last known sighting of her and was captured on the store's CCTV cameras. 

She was wearing ripped baggy jeans, a cream long-sleeve top and a similarly coloured scarf.

Police believe she travelled on to Wialki, another 25km east of Beacon. 

June 30 to July 10 – No contact with friends and family

For 10 days, Ms Wilga’s friends and family have been unable to get in contact with her, and there are no known sightings of Ms Wilga by members of the public. 

On Sunday, July 7, police alerted the media of her disappearance and provided details of their search. 

July 10 – Van found in Karroun Hill

At 1:10pm on Thursday, July 10, police find Ms Wilga’s black and grey Mitsubishi Delica van abandoned in Karroun Hill, more than 50km north of Wialki. 

Police said the car appeared to have had mechanical issues and Ms Wilga was nowhere to be found. 

 

A photo of the van taken by police shows orange recovery boards under the back wheels, used to give vehicles traction if they are stuck in mud or sand.

The Karroun Hill area has a nature reserve that encompasses more than 300,000 hectares along the north-eastern limit of the Wheatbelt — the state’s agricultural region.

Police have described the terrain in Karroun Hill as remote, difficult to navigate and unsafe. 

What’s next in the search?

Police have ramped up their search efforts in the Karroun Hill area and deployed additional resources to the area where Ms Wilga’s van was found. 

They will continue to search the area for Ms Wilga, in hopes of finding her alive in the vicinity — 12 days since she was last seen alive.

The weather forecast for the Central Wheatbelt district is sunny but cold, with morning frost and overnight temperatures falling to minus 2 degrees Celsius on Friday and fluctuating between 3C to 19C over the weekend. 

Media outlets have been told to stay away from the area due to the rough and unsafe nature of the landscape. 

At a media conference on Thursday, Detective Senior Sergeant Katharine Venn said police had been "following up with leads across regional WA and coastal towns, including Albany, Esperance and Margaret River".

“Every piece of information we're receiving is being treated seriously," she said.

On social media, Ms Wilga's mother Katja made a plea for any information about where her daughter was, saying: "Carolina is still sorely missed … please keep your eyes open."

Why do people visit the area?

According to Beacon's tourism website, Karroun Hill Nature Reserve is the largest nature reserve in the south-west of WA.

"Here, a rich array of vegetation supports an equally diverse animal wildlife, much of which has escaped the influence of long-established pastoral, agricultural, and gold mining communities that surround it," the website reads.

The surrounding area is also a site for prospecting.

In May, police found a vehicle belonging to Barry Podmore, 73, abandoned and locked 40km north of Beacon.

Mr Podmore had been prospecting at Karroun Hill and has been missing since December.

Police said Mr Podmore and Ms Wilga's cases were not related.

Beacon, a town with a population of 123 at the 2021 ABS census, lists on its website wildflower watching from July to September, camping and birdwatching as activities around the area.