Woman survives for 17 days in rainforest

SYDNEY — Police in Australia admit they are baffled by the case of Shannon Leah Fraser, who went missing in dense rainforest and stayed alive for 17 days by eating fish and insects before emerging 30 metres from where she disappeared.

Despite a massive operation involving helicopters, quad bikes and methodical searching through the area in northeast Australia, authorities were unable to locate Fraser, 30, who was eventually spotted by a banana farmer as she reappeared alone.

The mother of three was found Wednesday morning, not far from the Golden Hole swimming spot in northern Queensland where she went missing after a picnic with her partner.

“I don’t know about miracles, but this is certainly pretty unique that a person has been able to survive in that terrain and that environment for almost 17 days,” said Rhys Newton, a Queensland police inspector.

He said authorities were perplexed as to how Fraser was able to go undetected, then emerge from the centre of the search zone.

Fraser has yet to speak publicly and is being treated in hospital for shock and badly burned skin. She reportedly told her family she had lived off fish from the creek and insects, and spent three days lying in water to relieve her burns.

She said she cried herself to sleep each night and thought of her children — Jacob, 15, India, nine, and Takirah, 11 — to motivate herself to persevere.

When she emerged, she was covered in scratches and insect bites and had lost 35 pounds. Referring to the television weight- loss program and the survival expert, her brother, Dylan Fraser, told a local paper: “It’s Biggest Loser meets Bear Grylls.”