Police have praised a woman found “covered in mud from head to toe”, five days after she went missing in dense Victorian bushland, for her resourcefulness and ingenuity.
Veronique Biunkens, from the Netherlands, used the mud to protect herself from the sun, stuffed her clothing with river moss to keep warm at night and built a makeshift hut after she became lost near the small town of W Tree, about 400km east of Melbourne.
Police found Biunkens, 41, in bushland next to a creek at 12.45pm on Tuesday, about 1.3km from where she went missing after leaving her bush retreat to go out for a walk.
She was found unharmed largely thanks to her use of bush craft to survive, Insp Mark Edwards told the ABC.
“When they found her she was absolutely covered in mud from head to toe and she’s told the searchers she’s put the mud all over her to protect herself from the sun during the day,” he said.
“Her clothing was stuffed with river moss and she’s used the river moss to keep herself warm during the night. It’s acted like a bit of a doona.”
He described Biukens as “very, very smart”.
“She found two logs that were relatively close together and she’s used some branches and leaves and bracken from the bush to make herself a little hut,” Edwards said.
Biukens was without food for five days. Edwards said it was the first time he had found someone alive and well after they had been missing for so long in the bush.
