A MISSING backpacker’s phone has been discovered two years after she mysteriously disappeared – with the extraordinary breakthrough sparking a fresh search.
Celine Cremer, 31, was last seen hiking near a mountain in Australia before she seemingly vanished into thin air – leaving cops completely puzzled over her sudden disappearance.
The Belgian tourist’s last known sighting was in the Philosopher Falls area near Cradle Mountain in northwest Tasmania on June 17, 2023.
But in a breakthrough discovery, a determined group of volunteers – including Celine’s family and friends from Belgium – found her mobile phone.
The Samsung device was located almost two-and-a-half years after her disappearance – and following months of fruitless search efforts.
A bombshell image showed the missing backpacker’s phone tightly nestled under a grassy patch of foliage.
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The phone was found “less than 100 metres from her last known GPS point”, Tasmanian explorer Rob Parsons said.
He said: “This proves the theory that Celine lost her phone shortly after recording her final location and provides clear direction on the path she was heading.
“While there is still work to be done before we have full closure, this is a significant step forward.”
The rescue team member who found the phone, Tony Hage, said of his shock discovery: “I couldn’t talk. I just could not talk.
“I just melted. What else would be out here? It’s highly unlikely finding another phone here.”
Parsons, who helped organise the search, added: “We will have trained search and rescue officers and SES volunteers on the ground when weather conditions allow the search to continue.”
Local cops praised the volunteer team’s discovery, with Inspector Andrew Hanson saying: “Tasmania Police resources are now formally joining the independent search effort.
“We will have trained search and rescue officers and SES volunteers on the ground when weather conditions allow the search to continue.”
Police believe Celine had been hiking alone along the Philosopher Falls track in the moments before she vanished.
They speculate that she chose to leave the trail and take a “direct route back to her car” when daylight started to fade.
“We suspect she dropped her phone and continued without it, becoming disoriented in dense terrain,” Hanson said.
The explorer noted that while the bombshell discovery was a good step forward, it shed light on the tragic situation for Celine’s loved ones.
He said: “While finding her phone has provided some hope for the many people invested in this matter, it is a stark reminder for Celine’s loved ones of the tragedy of their loss.”
Celine was solo travelling when she mysteriously disappeared.
It took nine days before anyone alerted police that she had gone missing.
Cops located her car at the Philosopher Falls carpark on June 26, just before rough weather set in on the region.
Hanson explained: “In the days since Celine’s disappearance, the winter weather in the area included subzero temperatures, snow and rainfall.
“Expert medical advice at the time indicated those conditions were not survivable for the duration she is believed to have been exposed.
“Our initial search continued for two weeks, and follow-up searches have been conducted numerous times over the last two years, with no further signs of her located until yesterday.”