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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| British backpacker in Australia rescued after texting location to father | British backpacker in Australia rescued after texting location to father |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| A British backpacker who says she was held against her will during a car trip in Australia was rescued after texting her location to her father in England. | A British backpacker who says she was held against her will during a car trip in Australia was rescued after texting her location to her father in England. |
| Mary Kate Heys, 20, had agreed to ride with a man from their hostel in south-east Queensland to Brisbane. | Mary Kate Heys, 20, had agreed to ride with a man from their hostel in south-east Queensland to Brisbane. |
| But when he drove in the opposite direction and refused to allow her out, she told her father to call police. | But when he drove in the opposite direction and refused to allow her out, she told her father to call police. |
| Police intercepted the pair at Gympie, 90km (55 miles) from the hostel, after her father contacted them. | Police intercepted the pair at Gympie, 90km (55 miles) from the hostel, after her father contacted them. |
| 'Freak out' | |
| Ms Heys, from Manchester, told local media that the man woke her at 04:30 local time on Monday (18:30 GMT on Sunday) at the Mooloolaba hostel, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. | |
| She told 7 News she agreed to go on a road trip to Brisbane with the 22-year-old man from Sweden but he headed in the direction of Cairns. | |
| "[That] is when I started to freak out... I knew it wasn't going to be a nice trip to Brisbane." | |
| 'Call Australian police' | |
| She said she was "so terrified", adding he had "psychotic eyes" and it was "like he'd lost it". | |
| "He was talking about him being an alien with such passion that I actually kind of believed him." | |
| She texted her father in Manchester with her location as well as messages reading: "I need you to call Australian police" and "I've been taken by a man… please hurry". | |
| Ms Heys said: "I literally thought he was going to kill us both... He was so erratic." | |
| The 22-year-old driver, from Sweden, was arrested and taken to hospital for medical treatment. | The 22-year-old driver, from Sweden, was arrested and taken to hospital for medical treatment. |
| He will not face charges as Ms Heys withdrew her complaint against him, police said. | He will not face charges as Ms Heys withdrew her complaint against him, police said. |
| "I didn't want him to go to jail - I thought it was a bad place for him." | |