Tas girl reunited with family after search
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A four-year-old Tasmanian girl has spent the night with her family after two nights lost in remote bushland.
Shayla Phillips went missing on the Tasman Peninsula on Wednesday afternoon, and was found on Friday one kilometre from where she was last seen.
About 100 people were involved in the search efforts, and as rescue crews feared she would have to spent another night in the open, she was found just after 4pm Friday.
State Emergency Service crews conducting a close-to-ground search spotted her on a steep slope in dense bushland near Halls Rd in Stormlea.
Inspector Gavin Hallett said Shayla was able to walk but appeared disoriented, and police reunited her with her mother as soon as they could.
“It was obviously very emotional when I passed the happy news on to mum. She was very grateful,” he told reporters.
She was then taken to hospital in Hobart by ambulance.
The area where she was found was about 500 metres from the nearest home, and had previously been searched from the air, but not on foot.
Insp Hallett said he knew that search crews, combing their way through dense bushland, simply had to persevere.
“We’ve said all along this was a search and rescue operation … We knew that if we just kept pressing away we would find her,” he said.
Thermal imaging drones, helicopters, divers and sniffer dogs from Victoria Police were involved in the search.
Shayla had been playing outside with dogs from a neighbouring property when she went missing.
Late on Friday, Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein said the news was heartwarming and thanked everyone who helped with the search.
“We are all so pleased to see little Shayla reunited with her family and friends following this positive outcome.”
AAP
