‘JUNGLE JANE’ STILL HURTING
SHE may have been dubbed “Jungle Jane”, but Shannon Fraser now feels more geriatric than heroic, a year after struggling to survive for more than two weeks in the Far North’s rainforest.
The 30-year-old has spoken out about her ordeal on the 12-month anniversary of her disappearance and miraculous discovery after she became lost in jungle near Josephine Falls.
She was found 17 days later, just 30m from where she vanished, reportedly surviving on nothing but rainwater.
Shannon, who lived in Innisfail but moved to country NSW with her family earlier this year, has since fully recovered from the terrifying experience that scarred her body and mind.
The mother-of-three told The Cairns Post she experienced a minor “breakdown” after she was reminded last week on social media that it had been one year since her misadventure.
“Every time I looked on Facebook, it had ‘ see your memories’, and it was all my friends posting ‘ where are you?’,’’ she said.
“I was OK during the day, but I just lost it at night,’’ she said.
Shannon lost nearly 17kg and suffered severe sunburn and lacerations to her feet after trudging through the dense forest.
She said she had since regained the weight, and the sores on her feet had healed within six months.
But she now suffers from excruciating hip pain and is unable to walk long distances.
“Where I live, the skate park is probably a five-minute walk, but it will take me an hour to get there,’’ she said.
“It’s both my hips – I feel like a 90-year-old woman.
“I went to the hospital three weeks ago.
“The pain grew that bad that I couldn’t walk.”
Shannon had vanished after wandering off from Golden Hole Reserve, a popular fishing spot which she had visited with her then-fiance Heath Cassady and a friend.
Mr Cassady reportedly wandered the bushland for three hours yelling Shannon’s name before he called the police and reported her missing on September 21.
Emergency crews spent 800 hours scouring the area trying to track her down.
Shannon has since separated from Mr Cassady.
She said she regretted moving away from the Far North without being able to personally thank the people who spend so much time and resources searching for her.
“When I was in the bush, I didn’t think anyone was looking for me,” she said.
“I didn’t think anyone had reported me missing.
“I didn’t realise there was so much media coverage.
“It just overwhelmed me when I came out, pretty much. I just want to send a big thank you to everyone for trying to find me.”
While recovering in Innisfail Hospital, Shannon was besieged by media.
She eventually told her survival tale to Channel Seven’s Sunday Night program.
“Because the media didn’t have a photo of me, (the media) was relentless,’’ she said. “Channel Seven had to smuggle me out of hospital.
“What they did was take me out the back door and put my sister-in-law in a wheelchair, and Channel Nine got a photograph of her. Channel Seven had to ring them to say it wasn’t me.”