Woman found alive after 17 days lost in bushland

An Australian woman has been found alive after spending 17 days lost in remote bushland in far north Queensland in an extraordinary tale of survival.

Shannon Leah Fraser's family had feared the worst after she disappeared on Sept 21 and rescuers could not track her movements.

Police thought Fraser may have been murdered or even taken by a crocodile, but the 30-year-old mother of three miraculously turned up alive on Wednesday.

A local farmer found Fraser when she emerged sunburned and dehydrated near the Golden Hole swimming spot, northwest of Innisfail.

Fraser is believed to have survived her bush ordeal by drinking creek water and eating small fish and insects after she became lost and disoriented in the rugged rain forest.

Her family said they were "over the moon" to learn Fraser was alive.

Her brother Dylan Fraser told local media his family had been braced for the worst possible news.

"Just the weight off our shoulders is unreal. ... We didn't want to think the worst, but there wasn't much hope there - there were no leads on what was going on," he said.

"We're just happy to have her home. She's severely sunburned and all scratched up and very exhausted."

Fraser's elated mother, Deidre Sharrock, said: "Thank God she's alive."

"She's badly burned, she's lost a lot of weight," Sharrock told The Brisbane Courier-Mail. "She's got a lot of infected cuts from fighting the scrub. She told us she just sat in a creek for three days to soothe her cuts and burns."

Fraser is in a stable condition in Innisfail Hospital.

"She's just a soldier - it's the ultimate survival story I think," her brother said. "You see this stuff on TV and don't ever think it'll happen to you or one of your family members, so it's just unreal."

(China Daily 10/09/2014 page10)