<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A high-vis jacket, a white blouse and a torch are poignant clues about the final hours of a woman who died after </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/missing-persons" rel="" target="" title="getting lost"><span>getting lost</span></a><span> on a midnight </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/hiking" rel="" target="" title="bushwalk"><span>bushwalk</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Esther Wallace's body was found in the Mount Canobolas State Conservation Area, on the outskirts of </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/new-south-wales" rel="" target="" title="Orange, NSW"><span>Orange, NSW</span></a><span>, on December 11, 2022, after a large-scale 12-day search.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>An inquest is examining the efficacy of the search and the circumstances of Wallace's death, which is not considered suspicious.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/homelessness-charity-reacts-to-baby-death-wagga-wagga-new-south-wales-housing-news/5a80044f-3d16-409e-aa6b-3ddb449cea02"><strong><span>Death of baby in homeless camp exposes 'broken system'</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The 47-year-old had set out on a walk on the steep Federal Falls track with her boyfriend in the early hours of November 30, wearing only a blouse, tights and sandals in below zero temperatures.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The couple went to the track to look at the twinkling city lights after a day spent with friends.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They walked for about an hour before they took a wrong turn into thick and rocky scrub, and a panicked Wallace refused to move, the inquest has been told.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/mount-canobolas-death-tragic-trail-of-clues-reveals-lost-walker-esther-wallaces-plight/8d2680a6-943d-48d1-bb04-04c3c1bae206" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After the pair argued about the best way out, the man left Wallace with his high-vis jacket and walked to safety at sunrise to call for help.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>During an intense operation involving police, State Emergency Services and PolAir, the jacket was found on the fifth day of the search and Wallace's blouse was found four days later.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Her black headband and a torch were also discovered.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Emergency and retrieval physician Dr Ben Butson told the inquest the items showed Wallace was likely suffering delirium as a result of hypothermia and dehydration.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Esther cast aside ... items that may have been useful for her comfort and survival," Butson told the inquest in Orange today.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Patients can sometimes cast away things that might be important to them or lose the ability to maintain a rational course of action."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/wintry-cold-blast-weather-forecast-may-snow-hail-wind/b01641bb-1682-4930-9c74-e05967150747" rel="" target="" title="Snow, hail and icy winds to lash southeast in sudden cold snap"><strong><span>Snow, hail and icy winds to lash southeast in sudden cold snap</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The inquest was previously told of a phenomenon called "paradoxical undressing" in which people suffering hypothermia have hot flashes and remove their clothes in a confused state.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Butson said there were cases of lost people being found naked in snow.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The inquest is looking at whether authorities' classification of Wallace as a lost hiker affected the search, when she had a history of mental ill health, drug-induced psychosis and had recently used cannabis.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It is possible someone with Wallace's history would evade rescuers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But Butson said the boyfriend's account of their final moments together showed Wallace was unlikely to hide.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The couple sat down, waited for the sun to rise, and Wallace pointed to a track and suggested following it.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"She was searching for a way out of this situation ... to go somewhere where people were more likely to find her," Butson said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The boyfriend was not implicated in Wallace's death and continually helped police, the coroner has been told.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The inquest continues.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></strong></em><span> </span><strong><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><em><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></em></a><span> 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