Woman Disappeared During Walk in the Wilderness. Her Phone Was Just Found More Than 2 Years Later

Two years after a 31-year-old Belgian woman disappeared while hiking in Tasmania’s remote wilderness, searchers have recovered a key piece of evidence: her mobile phone.

Tasmania Police said in a news release that the phone was located on Saturday, Dec. 13, in the Philosopher Falls area outside Waratah. Following the discovery, officers announced they were joining the renewed search effort for Celine Cremer, who has been missing since June 2023.

“I don’t think there was a dry eye in the area,” Rob Parsons, an adventure filmmaker involved in the private search, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Cremer was last seen in Waratah — a historic mining town near the border of the Tarkine rainforest — on June 17, 2023. Investigators believe she drove to Philosopher Falls, parked her car, and set off on what was intended to be a short bushwalk, according to Inspector Andrew Hanson.

“Unfortunately, she did not return,” Hanson said.

Nine days later, her friends reported her missing. Police found her car the next day in the Philosopher Falls car park.

“At the time, winter weather in the area included sub zero temperatures, snow and rainfall,” Hanson said. “Expert medical advice at the time indicated those conditions were not survivable for the duration she is believed to have been exposed.”

Authorities carried out an initial two-week search in 2023, followed by additional efforts over the last two years. Until now, officials said, there had been no confirmed sign of Cremer.

The phone was found during a private search organized by Parsons, which included experienced off-track hikers and some of Cremer’s friends, according to the ABC. About 35 people took part in the search on Saturday, and efforts were expected to continue this week.

Hanson said phone data and the location where it was found support investigators’ working theory: Cremer may have used an app on her phone and left the marked Philosopher Falls track in fading daylight to take what she believed was a more direct route back to her car.

“We suspect she dropped her phone and continued without it, becoming disoriented in dense terrain,” Hanson said.

The phone will undergo further forensic examination. Police formally joined the independent search following the discovery, though efforts were paused on Sunday, Dec. 14, due to poor weather. Officials said search and rescue teams would return as soon as conditions improve.

“The area that needs to be searched now, it’s still a very large area,” Hanson told the ABC. “It’s the kind of area where you can’t get technology into, you can’t search in any other way than boots on the ground.”

Authorities said Cremer’s mother in Belgium has been informed.

“While finding her phone has provided some hope for the many people invested in this matter,” Hanson said in the news release, “it is a stark reminder for Celine’s loved ones of the tragedy of their loss.”