Woman felt ‘something bad’ before ill-fated night hike in Orange NSW

Esther Wallace’s last words to her mother were: “I think something bad is going to happen”.

That last conversation turned out to be painfully prophetic.

Shortly afterwards, the 47-year-old spent the day with her on-again, off-again boyfriend and the pair headed out for a moonlit forest walk.

After about an hour, they took a wrong turn and became lost and disoriented in the dense undergrowth.

Wallace panicked and wore only a blouse, tights and sandals in sub-zero temperatures. He refused to move and the couple argued about the best way out.

Her boyfriend left her in his safety jacket while he walked to safety at dawn to call for help.

That was the last time she was seen alive.

A two-day inquest examined the effectiveness of the 12-day search for Wallace and the circumstances of her death, which is not considered suspicious.

Wallace’s body was found on the afternoon of December 11, with hypothermia and dehydration being the likely causes of death.

During the search, Wallace’s white blouse, her black headband, a flashlight and the safety jacket were found discarded.

This was a sign of a phenomenon known as ‘paradoxical undressing’, where people suffering from hypothermia experience hot flushes and remove their clothes in confusion, the inquest heard.

Emergency and recovery physician Ben Butson said the items showed Wallace was likely suffering from delirium due to both hypothermia and dehydration.

“Patients may sometimes throw away things that may be important to them, or lose the ability to maintain a rational course of action,” Dr. Butson today at the inquest in Orange.

The inquest also examined whether authorities’ classification of Wallace as a lost hiker affected the search.

She had a history of mental health problems, drug-induced psychosis and had recently used cannabis, characteristics that could cause a lost person to evade rescue services.

But Dr. Butson said the friend’s account of their last hours together showed Wallace was unlikely to hide.

At first light, Wallace pointed to a trail and suggested we follow it.

“She was looking for a way out of this situation… to go somewhere where people were more likely to find her,” Dr Butson said.

Counsel representing Claire Palmer concluded that the search areas were appropriate and that due consideration had been given to Wallace’s background.

Lyn Wallace said her last conversation with her beloved daughter continues to haunt her.

“(Her death was) perhaps the wrong place, the wrong time,” Wallace said in a statement.

“Esther was loved and will be greatly missed by our family.”

The boyfriend was not involved in Wallace’s death.

Judge Rebecca Hosking will announce her findings at a later date.

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