Woman lost in wilderness survived on lollipops and a bottle of wine before rescue, authorities say
- A woman lost in the wilderness of Victoria, Australia, was rescued after five days, police said.
- Lillian Ip, 48, took a wrong turn while and her car became stuck in mud.
A woman who was lost in the remote bushland in Victoria, Australia, was safely rescued after surviving five days on lollipops and a bottle of wine, authorities said on Saturday.
The 48-year-old woman, named Lilian Ip, took a wrong turn trying to drive to Dartmouth Dam while on vacation.
After hitting a dead-end, her car became stuck in mud while trying to turn around. There was no cell phone service in the area, so she could not call for help.
After her loved ones didn't hear from her, authorities embarked on an extensive search of the area for several days.
Aerial footage posted on Twitter by Victoria Police shows the moment authorities in a helicopter spotted her car in the hilly terrain as Ip waved up to the camera.
"Lillian was found a good 60 kilometers away from the nearest town, and due to health issues, she was unable to try and walk for help, so stayed with her car," Wodonga Police Station Sergeant Martin Torpey said in a statement, adding she had the "great common sense" not to "wander off."
"The first thing coming in my mind, I was thinking 'water and a cigarette,'" Ms Ip told 9News Australia of her rescue. "Thank god the policewoman had a cigarette," per BBC News.
As she was planning a short day trip, Ip had "only taken a couple of snacks and lollies with her but no water." Luckily, she happened to have a bottle of wine she had bought as a gift for her mother, which "got her through," Torpey said.
After five days lost in the Australian bush, Ip said she had given up hope and had written a final letter to her family expressing her love.
"I thought I was going to die there. My whole body shut down on Friday," she said, per BBC News.
Ip was taken to hospital suffering from dehydration but later returned to her home in Melbourne.