The family of a missing Brazilian hiker who fell off a cliff while hiking on an active volcano in Indonesia says she has been found dead.
Juliana Marins, 26, was hiking on Mount Rinjani when she fell at around 6:30am on June 20. The head of Mataram Search and Rescue, Muhammad Hariyadi, tells Reuters Marins slipped off the trail and fell up to 9,84ft (300m) down a cliff on the side of the mountain, but not into the crater as some outlets previously reported.
Hariyadi says drone footage reveals that Marins was initially seen moving, but her location made it difficult to reach her using either ropes or by helicopter. An Instagram post by a local trekking company says she was heard crying for help on the day of the fall. She appears to have been slipping further down the crumbly slope, and by the time rescuers reached her initial location on Sunday morning, Marins was no longer there.
Monday's efforts were aborted due to weather conditions, including thick fog, which Marins and a friend had joked about obscuring the views in an Instagram video shared by her family.
Earlier on Tuesday, her family posted on an Instagram account set up to share information about the case that helicopters and "well-experienced mountaineers" had been dispatched to the scene, but a more recent update says she has been discovered deceased.
"Today, the rescue team managed to reach the place where Juliana Marins was. With great sadness, we inform you that she did not survive. We remain very grateful for all the prayers," writes the family.
In an interview with Brazilian TV station Fantastico, Marin's sister Marianna says she heard from other hikers in the group that Juliana stopped for a break, but the hiking guide continued on. When the guide returned to check on her, he allegedly discovered she had fallen.
An unidentified friend said in an appeal to authorities that Marin's family learned about Juliana's disappearance through social media, saying that since then, they have received only "conflicting, delayed, and often false information" about the accident and rescue efforts. They also asked people to report fraudulent fundraisers claiming to be raising money for the family.
According to the friend, Marins was "living her dream backpacking through Southeast Asia."
Mt Rinjani is a 12,224 ft (3,726m) active volcano on the island of Lombok next to Bali that is popular with trekkers. In May this year, a Malaysian hiker died after falling from a cliff on the same volcano.
