A woman who went missing in Australia's Snowy Mountains region was found nearly two weeks later after surviving freezing temperatures and a potentially deadly snakebite.
Lovisa "Kiki" Sjoberg, 48, was "dazed and injured" when a field officer spotted her walking near a wilderness trail in Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales, about 50 miles southwest of Canberra, shortly before 5 p.m. local time Sunday, according to police.
"She advises she was bitten by a copperhead snake four days before being found and also rolled her ankle and she was suffering from dehydration," Monaro Police District Superintendent Toby Lindsay said during a news conference, according to Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Sjoberg was "quite unwell" and was taken to a local hospital for treatment, Lindsay said.
Copperheads live in the southeastern parts of Australia and without medical assistance, their highly poisonous venom can kill a person, according to the Australian Museum.
More than 30 people had searched for Sjoberg every day since she was reported missing on Oct. 21, six days after she was last seen, Lindsay said.
Lindsay likened their efforts to looking for a "pinhead in a haystack" and Australia's Bureau of Meteorology recorded overnight temperatures as low as 32 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the ABC.
"We held grave concerns for the missing woman and [are] very glad she's been found safe and reasonably well," Lindsay said.
Sjoberg is an avid photographer who visited to the park to take pictures of its wild horses, the ABC said. She was last seen driving a rented Mitsubishi Outlander in the park on Oct. 15.
Authorities began looking for her after the rental company told police the vehicle hadn't moved in six days and was overdue to be returned. The search effort involved the use of two helicopters, four-wheel drive vehicles and trail bikes.
Peter Cochran, who runs a horse riding business in the Snowy Mountains, told ABC that he was among a group of locals who helped search for Sjoberg on horseback.
Cochran said the scrub in the park is so "incredibly thick" that you can be within about 15 feet of someone and not see them.
"It was extremely difficult to find her," he said.
