Found Deceased Australia - Claire Hockridge, 46, (Phu Tran, fnd alive), Alice Springs, 19 Nov 2019 *car disabled*

[JerseyGirl]

Tamra McBeath-Riley, 52, was being treated in an Alice Springs hospital for dehydration and exposure after she was found late Sunday. The air search continued on Monday for her friends Claire Hockridge, 46, and Phu Tran, 40. The three set out from Alice Springs for an afternoon drive on Nov. 19 and their car became bogged in a riverbed southwest of the town.

McBeath-Riley found water about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) north of the car.

McBeath-Riley said she and her companions found a waterhole. Her companions began trekking 20 kilometers (12 miles) toward a highway on Thursday, planning to avoid the desert heat, which came close to 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in recent days, by walking at night and carrying up to 7 liters (15 pints) of water.

McBeath-Riley said she decided to stay at the waterhole with a dog that she did not think would survive a walk to the Stuart Highway.

Woman rescued after 12 nights stranded in Outback; 2 missing

 

[imstilla.grandma]

A woman who has been rescued after being stranded in the Australian outback for 12 days said she survived by eating biscuits, finding a watering hole, and drinking cans of vodka-mixer.

Tamra McBeath-Riley, who was with two other people when she went missing, is being treated for severe dehydration at a hospital in Alice Springs, police commissioner Pauline Vicary said. The two others, Claire Hockridge, and Phu Tran have not yet been found.

The trio had left Alice Springs for an afternoon drive on November 19 when their car became bogged in a riverbed southwest of the city. They decided to stay in the car for three days, relying on a supply of 1.5 gallons of water, a pack of biscuits, 10 cans of vodka-mixer, and some beef noodles, according to BBC News.
A woman who was stranded in the Australian outback for 2 weeks survived by eating biscuits and drinking cans of vodka-mixer

***backstory:
Alice Springs residents Claire Hockridge, 46, Tamra McBeath-Riley, 52, and South Australian man Phu Tran, 40, were last seen at a unit on Elder Street in Alice Springs on Tuesday, November 19.

NT Police Superintendent Pauline Vicary said no-one in the group had accessed their bank accounts or phones since their departure.

Police believe they left Alice Springs in a late model white Mitsubishi Triton, with South Australian registration plate S483 AAI, after telling friends and family they were going on an "afternoon trek".

The trio was reported missing on November 23 and police began an air search three days later, focused on areas south of the town near Owen Springs, Stuarts Well and Rainbow Valley.

The search has now been expanded to include the region further south, near Finke and Kulgera, with a police plane covering the southern part of the Stuart Highway.

"The information that we have is that they regularly keep contact with their families, they haven't even contacted their families and there's nothing happening with their phones."
Police fear worst for trio missing in Central Australian outback for 10 days

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Superintendent Vicary said it appeared as though Ms Hockridge and Mr Tran had now split up, and they were following a single set of footprints.

Superintendent Vicary said officers were yet to begin searching the area by foot.

"Because of the terrain that they have gone missing in, and because we don't have a particularly focused area, we are still doing the helicopters," she said.

"It's quite a diverse terrain — there's sandy dunes, there's hard clay, there's areas of dense trees but there is also rocks and ranges in the area as well."
'I'm worried to death': Woman describes fight for survival during 12 days lost in outback

Tamra McBeath-Riley cuddles a Staffordshire bull terrier

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The trio remained together while their meagre rations lasted; then Hockridge and Tran set out.

Claire Hockridge, 46, and Phu Tran, 40, were last seen setting out on foot on Thursday from a waterhole about 100km southwest of Alice Springs. Their desperate mission was to cross 30km of rough terrain between them and the Stuart Highway to raise alarm.

“They were going to follow the sun, follow west, directly west,” Ms McBeath-Riley said.

“But they did say, too, that if they found a track, well, that would lead them somewhere. So, one or the other.”

Ms Hockridge and Mr Tran had left carrying a compass, a TomTom GPS unit and six or seven litres of bottled, salty water, Ms McBeath-Riley said. Ms Hockridge had been wearing a T-shirt and Mr Tran, a singlet and Ms McBeath-Riley’s boots.

Rumours circulating on social media suggested the group might have been involved in nefarious activity, but police have said there is no evidence to support those claims and described them as unhelpful.

A police spokeswoman said on Monday that the missing pair had not been found and aerial searches were scheduled to resume at first light on Tuesday.

The spokeswoman said all missing persons reports were treated as suspicious until resolved.
NoCookies | The Australian

 

[JerseyGirl]

Tamra McBeath-Riley cuddles a Staffordshire bull terrier

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[SouthAussie]

I think that the trio would have got bogged in the (dry) Finke River in the approximate area of the red circle I have drawn on this map ... which should be about 100km SW of Alice Springs, and 30km from the Sturt Highway, as stated.



Very harsh terrain. Current temps in 33C/91F range ... and only getting hotter and hotter (into the 41C/105F range) as the week progresses.

خرائط ‪Google‬‏‏

 

[Gardener1850]

Two of the three friends who set out to explore the country’s vast sun-baked interior when their car became bogged down in a river bed have been found, but another is still missing.

A man and woman have been rescued after surviving two weeks in Australia’s arid outback on little more than vodka, groundwater and biscuits, but a third person is still missing, police said Tuesday.

The three friends set out to explore the country’s vast sun-baked interior near Alice Springs on November 19 when their car became bogged down in a river bed.

After three days staying put and waiting for a rescue, the group feared supplies were dwindling and two of them decided to walk along a property fence line in the hope of finding help.

Police said Tuesday that a local rancher had found the man, 40-year-old Phu Tran, “slightly disorientated” but in a “good condition” a two-day walk from the vehicle.

His discovery came after Tamra McBeath-Riley, 52, was found on Sunday less than two kilometres from the same vehicle suffering from dehydration.

McBeath-Riley told public broadcaster ABC that the trio — accompanied by their blue Staffordshire terrier Raya — had survived by drinking pre-mixed vodka drinks and water from a hole dug for cattle, eating biscuits and sheltering in a hole dug under her car.

But the third person, 46-year-old Claire Hockridge, has not been seen since splitting from Phu two days ago.

Rescued tourists survived two weeks in Australian outback by drinking vodka, eating biscuits

 

[SouthAussie]

Two of the three friends who set out to explore the country’s vast sun-baked interior when their car became bogged down in a river bed have been found, but another is still missing.

A man and woman have been rescued after surviving two weeks in Australia’s arid outback on little more than vodka, groundwater and biscuits, but a third person is still missing, police said Tuesday.

The three friends set out to explore the country’s vast sun-baked interior near Alice Springs on November 19 when their car became bogged down in a river bed.

After three days staying put and waiting for a rescue, the group feared supplies were dwindling and two of them decided to walk along a property fence line in the hope of finding help.

Police said Tuesday that a local rancher had found the man, 40-year-old Phu Tran, “slightly disorientated” but in a “good condition” a two-day walk from the vehicle.

His discovery came after Tamra McBeath-Riley, 52, was found on Sunday less than two kilometres from the same vehicle suffering from dehydration.

McBeath-Riley told public broadcaster ABC that the trio — accompanied by their blue Staffordshire terrier Raya — had survived by drinking pre-mixed vodka drinks and water from a hole dug for cattle, eating biscuits and sheltering in a hole dug under her car.

But the third person, 46-year-old Claire Hockridge, has not been seen since splitting from Phu two days ago.

Rescued tourists survived two weeks in Australian outback by drinking vodka, eating biscuits

Why on earth did the two split up?? Perhaps a difference of opinion on which direction to go? Or perhaps one travelling faster than the other, so he went ahead.


But the third person, 46-year-old Claire Hockridge, has not been seen since splitting from Phu two days ago.
“She was still fine when he left but we obviously are now focusing our search to identify where she is,” police superintendent Pauline Vicary said.

 

[SouthAussie]

The last of three people lost in the outback for a fortnight was seen about two days ago carrying at least a litre of water and in a “better condition” than a man found alive today, a pastoralist believes.

Mr Fogarty said his unexpected guest had seemed disoriented and forgetful but that 40-year-old Tran had told him he had last seen his companion, Ms Hockridge, 46, about two days ago heading north along a fence line.

Mr Tran had sat down and Ms Hockridge continued without him.

He reasoned that Ms Hockridge would have continued north to a spot known as “Palmer-Henbury-Idracowra corner” before heading west for a few kilometres and then continuing north again.

Police intensified their aerial search on Tuesday in the hope of finding Ms Hockridge alive.

NoCookies | The Australian

 

[SouthAussie]

Just heard on the late night news that Claire Hockridge was found deceased this morning.

No real details in online MSM yet, but she has been formally identified now - according to late night TV news. Her family gave a brief press conference.


On Wednesday morning, police inspected tracks they believed belonged to Ms Hockridge.
Temperatures reached about 40C in the area while the group was missing.
Woman missing in Northern Territory found dead

 

[Jenz]

And she was the one who just kept going in search of help of herself and friends...so sad.

 

[GraceG]

I'm so thankful Phu was found but heartbroken about Claire. She was the partner of the woman who was first found.

 

[SouthAussie]

There is a brief video in this link of Claire's family and Phu speaking to the media.

Police find body of woman missing in NT outback | Sky News Australia

 

[Elainera]

Linked to the article about the sad discovery of Claire Hockridge the BBC posted this article with tips to increase the chances of survival in the Australian outback.

How long can you survive in Australia's outback?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[JLZ]

Outback survivor arrested over alleged heroin possession and extortion links

I wonder if we'll hear more about the stranding episode.

 

[bancam]

Outback survivor arrested over alleged heroin possession and extortion links

I wonder if we'll hear more about the stranding episode.

This newspaper clip from Feb 2014, after another “long drive with a friend” across the Australian Outback. She didn’t get the car stuck in mud that time but she certainly has form:
https://www.territorystories.nt.gov.au/bitstream/10070/250046/7/ntn22feb14007x.pdf

It’s therefore little wonder that in the early stages of last years’ search for the missing trio, social media rumours (referenced above in an earlier news item) ran rife.

 

[YaYa_521]

Extraordinary twist in the case of a woman who died while missing in the NT outback | Daily Mail Online
PUBLISHED: 21:03 EDT, 26 May 2020 | UPDATED: 02:14 EDT, 27 May 2020
While her travelling companions were found alive, a police investigation for the coroner was launched after Ms Hockridge's body was found on December 4, 38 kilometres south-southeast of Stuarts Well.

Her family was told by the NT Coroner's office in March that a public inquest would not be held, citing no new information about her death would be uncovered.