An Australian woman is in an Argentinian hospital recovering from being attacked and left in a forest with no food, water or warm clothes for four days.
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Authorities in Argentina said a 23-year-old woman was found yesterday wounded and severely dehydrated.
Emma Kelly had been travelling in Argentina and volunteering at a local church, according to Reverend Geoff Westlake, who knows Ms Kelly and her family.
''They're doing OK now that [they have] been able to speak with her on the phone and a lot of worry has dissipated,'' he said.
Mr Westlake was the celebrant at Ms Kelly's twin brother's wedding in February and said that the family was concentrating on bringing her home.
Mr Westlake, who met Ms Kelly last year at a scripture camp for teenagers, said she was a very selfless person who would do anything to help the broader community and had trained as a physiotherapist.
''She's got a bubbly personality, very intelligent, and a fun-loving kind of person,'' he said.
Mr Westlake said Ms Kelly had been walking on a trail in the Patagonian mountains but didn't make it to the other side to be picked up by a friend.
The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed Ms Kelly had been reported missing on Monday after not returning from a mountain trek on Cajon Del Azul in Argentina.
Several Argentinian media outlets earlier named the woman as Emma Kevky, but DFAT said this was not correct. The department could not release her name, but confirmed she was from Perth and it was providing continuing assistance to the family.
Argentinian newspaper La Capital reported that Ms Kelly was found semi-naked after being attacked by a man three days earlier.
Commander Chief of Squadron 35 of the National Gendarmerie, Daniel Larraburu, told the newspaper that Ms Kelly left on Monday morning (local time) to take a walk around the area of the Cajon del Azul and was attacked by a man after walking about 5km in uninhabited forest.
He said the woman was found barefoot and beaten, with abrasions and bruises to her arms and legs, by a mountaineer.
The mountaineer lent her some clothes and assisted her, as she was having trouble walking.
She told him she had been attacked by a stranger, Commander Chief Larraburu told the newspaper, but it was not known if the attacker raped her.
''She was very distraught and spoke little. She managed to say a man attacked her and expressed her joy at being saved, but nothing more,'' Commander Chief Larraburu said.
Local police commander Jorge Olivia told local news organisations that the woman was in shock.
Local news outlets reported authorities had no leads on a suspect in the attack.
with AAP
