The search for a German tourist who has been missing since New Year's Day in Australia has been discontinued. After just two weeks, the police have no hope to find the 62-year-old woman from Cologne in the Australian outback still alive. A spokeswoman said that all possibilities are now exhausted.
The woman had started a hike alone in the city of Alice Springs on the morning of January 1st. Since then she lacks any trace. The last sign of life is a shot of a New Year's morning surveillance camera. You can see how the woman with the red backpack on her back makes her way.
It is feared that the Cologne woman was lost in the deserted and currently extremely hot area. In the outback - the Australian hinterland in the heart of the continent - the temperatures during the day currently reach more than 45 degrees. There you can travel for hours without meeting other people. Alice Springs is the only major city.
According to police, the search has searched "large areas of land". The authorities also used helicopters and drones - but all without success. There is no evidence of violent crime or any other involvement of third parties.
In the Outback, it often happens that tourists are lost because they overestimate their own strength and can not find their way back. During a heatwave in January 2018, a 32-year-old American died there. In February 2017, a German retired couple did not return from a hiking trip.