Lost in an Australian rainforest for 17 days, this mother survived by refusing to give up on her children

When Shannon Leah Fraser disappeared in Queensland's tropical rainforest in September 2014, rescuers feared the worst. Search crews spent days combing dense vegetation around the Golden Hole swimming area near Mount Bartle Frere, Australia's highest mountain on the mainland, before the official operation ended without success. More than two weeks later, however, Fraser emerged from the bush alive. During 17 days alone in one of Australia's most unforgiving landscapes, she survived on river water, small fish and insects while enduring severe sunburn, dehydration and exhaustion. Her extraordinary survival remains one of Australia's most remarkable wilderness stories, driven as much by mental resilience as physical endurance. She became separated during a walk and vanished into dense rainforestOn 21 September 2014, the 30-year-old Innisfail mother visited the Golden Hole swimming spot with her partner, Heath Cassady. Dylan Fraser, her brother, told ABC News that Shannon followed her partner on a walk through rugged rainforest but became separated after taking a wrong turn and lost her bearings in the dense vegetation. Police, emergency services and volunteers launched an extensive sea...