Imagine a person suddenly going missing; there is nothing more heartbreaking than not hearing from a loved one unexpectedly! This happened in the case of the mother of a missing 26-year-old backpacker has made a desperate plea for help, as Australian police continue searching for her daughter nearly two weeks after her disappearance. Carolina Wilga, a German national who has been backpacking across Australia for the past two years, was last seen on June 29, 2025.
Authorities in Western Australia confirmed they discovered her abandoned Mitsubishi Delica van in the remote Karroun Hill area of the north-east Wheatbelt region on Thursday, July 10. Wilga was last seen at a store on the corner of Lucas Street and Shemeld Street in Beacon at approximately 12:10 p.m. on the same day that she drove away and disappeared.
As per PEOPLE, Carolina left about five minutes later, and nobody has been seen or heard from her since. Her last communication with family was on June 18, despite being known to keep in frequent contact. Wilga had been working at regional mine sites and typically stayed in hostels while in metropolitan areas, authorities noted.
Meanwhile, Carolina Wilga’s description as per the outlet states that she’s of slim built and has long, wavy brown eyes and hair. She has several tattoos, including symbolic designs on her left arm. Her mother, who is in Germany, is also desperate to find her missing daughter.
“Carolina is sorely missed. If anyone has any information, please contact the police. Please keep your eyes open,” her mother wrote in a public comment on a police post, according to The West Australian.“I’m her mother and need her help, as I can’t do much from Germany,” she said.
Police issued a public appeal for help in their search for a 26-year-old German woman missing for over a week while backpacking in Western #Australia.https://t.co/0MtqAPh9qQ
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) July 10, 2025
Carolina Wilga’s phone has been switched off since the time she went missing, and Detective Senior Sergeant Katharine Venn spoke to news channels earlier on Thursday, saying police were tracking her movements in the days before she vanished.
“On the day prior, Carolina travelled through Toodyay, then Dowerin, which are Wheatbelt towns,” she said.“Today, we’re going to release footage of her in both of those locations to you, and we hope that this will cause a member of the public to recognise Carolina as somebody they’ve seen. She added as per WA today.
BREAKING NEWS: WA Police have provided an update in the search for 26-year-old German backpacker Carolina Wilga, who was last seen over a week ago in WA’s Wheatbelt region.
Police reported, “About 1:10 p.m. today, officers located the Mitsubishi Delica van Wilga was driving.”… pic.twitter.com/5VQOBQoVVl
— 10 News Perth (@10NewsPER) July 10, 2025
A similar disappearance case occurred when the vehicle of another missing person, 73-year-old Barry Podmore, was found in a nearby part of the Wheatbelt in May after being reported missing by his family in December, as reported by The Guardian. The vehicle was later found in the area, about 40km from the Beacon townsite.
Homicide detectives have joined the search for a 26-year-old German backpacker who has been missing in Western Australia since last week.
WA Police reported that Carolina Wilga was last seen in the Beacon area, around 330km north-east of Perth, and the surrounding north-eastern… pic.twitter.com/PgmVnkP2do
— 10 News Perth (@10NewsPER) July 9, 2025
A Facebook page named “Help Find Carolina Wilga” has also been set up. Reportedly, the backpacker had last contacted her friends on June 29 and had travelled through the towns of Toodyay and Dowerin, southwest of Beacon, which is actually a tiny town which is filled with picture-worthy spots that can be reached through rocky terrains.
Investigators claimed that she could go off-grid and lose access to her phone, or her car might have stopped moving due to a lack of fuel. Since it is a remote area, nothing seems inevitable, and the police have taken the search very seriously. As of now, the Western Australia Police Force has not provided further comment when contacted by PEOPLE.
This incident is a developing story; stay tuned for further updates!
