Rescued teenager Kathleen Bautista says she is lucky to be alive after she survived six days in bushland when her car crashed west of Canberra earlier this month.
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Ms Bautista remains in Canberra Hospital after she was found on Friday, September 10 near her upturned car, which had fallen down a 15-metre embankment and landed in a creek.
She was severely dehydrated and had non-life threatening injuries from the car accident and was taken to hospital in a stable condition.
In a statement released on Tuesday morning, the 19-year-old said she had since been recovering and reflecting on how lucky she was to be alive.
"To the community and my close friends who gave out fliers and who offered support to my family, I say thank you.
"You wrapped your arms around my family at a time of need.
"Thank you all so very much for your enormous love, support and prayers."
Ms Bautista said her priority was her recovery and well-being and she asked for the community and media to respect her and her family's privacy.
"I've been under a lot of stress lately and this experience has enabled me to take time to centre myself, be with family and loved ones, and focus on getting well and receiving the care that I need at the moment."
Ms Bautista was reported missing on Saturday, September 5 after she was last seen leaving a friend's house in Chapman. Police held grave concerns for her welfare.
Emergency services spent days combing bushland west of Canberra for the missing teenager, after tracking the 19-year-old's mobile phone.
Six days passed before she was found in the Cotter reserve area.
Ms Bautista thanked ACT Policing, ACT Emergency Services, ACT Ambulance, Parks and Conservation, ACT Health and the media for their role in her search, rescue and recovery.
She also paid tribute to Detective Sergeant John Giles and Constable Lachlan Ryan, who led the rescue and search teams, describing them as "my heroes".
The Bautista family previously thanked the people of Canberra for their "amazing sense of community".
"On behalf of the family, we would like to thank the entire Canberra community for their support, love, positivity and hope from the moment Kat was missing til now.
"While the police, SES and search and rescue teams worked tirelessly to find Kat, so did the everyday people of Canberra."
Kathleen Bautista's full statement
Since I was found in the Cotter reserve area I have been in hospital recovering and reflecting on how lucky I am to be alive.
I want to sincerely thank ACT Policing, ACT Emergency Services, ACT Ambulance and Parks and Conservation for their absolute dedication in their search and rescue efforts. Your commitment and professionalism saved my life and for that I will be forever grateful.
In particular I want to pay tribute to Detective Sergeant John Giles and Constable Lachlan Ryan who led the rescue and search teams. You are my heroes!
To the community and my close friends who gave out fliers and who offered support to my family, I say thank you. You wrapped your arms around my family at a time of need. Thank you all so very much for your enormous love, support and prayers. You guys rock!
To the staff of ACT Health thank you for looking after me and treating me with such care during this time.
To the media thank you for the role that you played in my search and rescue.
I understand the huge interest that you have in my story. However, I hope you will respect that as a family we are very private people, and as such we ask that you continue to respect our privacy.
There will be no one on one interviews, my only priority is my recovery and well-being.
I've been under a lot of stress lately and this experience has enabled me to take time to centre myself, be with family and loved ones, and focus on getting well and receiving the care that I need at the moment.
Because of this, I ask the media and the community to give me the time I need to get well and to please give my family the privacy we need at this moment.
Love
Kat xxx
