‘Kidnapped’ British backpacker rescued by text to dad
A British backpacker who claimed she was kidnapped during a road trip in Australia was rescued after texting her dad in England.
Twenty-year-old Mary Kate Heys had agreed to travel to Brisbane with a man she’d met in a hostel in Queensland, but she panicked when he started to drive in the opposite direction.
When the man refused to let her out of the car and started to talk of ‘being an alien’ she texted her location to her father who called the police, said the BBC.
Officers intercepted the pair 55 miles from the hostel and the 22-year-old driver, who is from Sweden, was arrested and taken to hospital for medical treatment.
However, he will not face charges as Heys withdrew her complaint, police said.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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