Body of teen hiker Lily Hooper recovered from Nattai National Park

The body of 18-year-old hiker Lily Hooper has been recovered from dense bushland hours after a shocking communication blunder resulted in family, media and government officials being mistakenly told she was alive.

Ms Hooper was found dead in an isolated part of Nattai National Park shortly before midday on Thursday, with police confirming on Friday that her body had been recovered overnight.

A communication error was sent up authorities’ chain of command after the tragic discovery on Thursday, leading many to initially believe the 18-year-old hiker had been found alive.

Later on Thursday, NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon offered his “unashamed” apology to Ms Hooper’s family, blaming the error on a “miscommunication” between those who discovered her body and those tasked with relaying information further up the pipeline.

“As a parent, I can’t conceive the unimaginable grief they are going through,” he said.

“Sadly, this morning there was a miscommunication when Lily’s body was found.

“I unashamedly apologise for any additional trauma that may have caused Lily’s family, and certainly for the embarrassment and confusion that caused.”

Ms Hooper was first reported missing late on August 12 after she failed to return to her home in southwest Sydney from a planned hike along the Bonnum Pic hiking trail in Nattai National Park.

Stretching for more than 17km through dense scrub and up along a vast, sweeping plateau, walkers the Bonnum Pic trail is described as a barely visible, densely overgrown and difficult to navigate path.

Originally published as Body of teen hiker Lily Hooper recovered from Nattai National Park