Woman's phone found over 2 years after she disappeared in Australian wilderness

More than two years after Celine Cremer vanished, her phone has been located in the Tasmanian wilderness, Australian police have announced.

The discovery was made on Saturday by an independent search party organized by Cremer's friends and family. The phone was found near a waterfall, according to a statement from Tasmania Police. Besides her car, found 10 days after she was last seen in Waratah, this is the first trace of Cremer to be located in the area where she went missing.

Police have stated that the phone will be subjected to forensic examination. They also announced they would formally join the independent search effort.

Cremer, who was Belgian, was last seen on June 17, 2023, in Waratah. Investigators believe she drove to Philosopher Falls, a waterfall surrounded by dense rainforest, intending to take a short walk. Inspector Andrew Hanson of Tasmania Police said, "Unfortunately, she did not return."

Her friends reported her missing to Tasmania Police on June 26, 2023, and an initial search began the following day. By that time, the area had already experienced severe winter weather, including subzero temperatures and snow. Medical experts advised police that Cremer could not have survived for so long in those conditions, Hanson stated.

The initial search lasted two weeks but yielded no clues. Subsequent searches over the years also proved fruitless. The recent discovery of Cremer's phone suggests she may have strayed from the Philosopher Falls track and become lost.

"The phone was found in an area that has been extensively searched previously. Phone data, along with the location of the discovery, supports our theory that Celine may have used an app on her phone to leave the Philosopher Falls track, opting for a more direct route back to her car as daylight faded," Hanson said. "We suspect she dropped her phone and continued without it, becoming disoriented in the dense terrain."

Harsh winter weather recently hampered further search efforts, according to Tasmania Police. That said, the reality is a bit more complicated. Hanson said officers plan to return to the area as soon as conditions improve.

Police added that while they did not lead the search that resulted in the phone's discovery, they "had been supporting the effort by sharing information and advice about what to do should anything be discovered."

The independent search party included Cremer's friends and adventure filmmaker Rob Parsons, who has posted videos of his own search attempts on YouTube. He described the moment the phone was found in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "I don't think there was a dry eye in the area," Parsons told the news organization. "Everyone was so emotional… It felt like it was meant to be."