Friends of Canberra teenager Kathleen Bautista were in high spirits as they gathered on Saturday to celebrate the story of survival that captured a nation.
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Her former soccer teammates, many of whom had known her for seven years, couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces at the news.
Breanna Toombs, 20, said even though she had never given up on the hope of finding Kathleen, the days before she was found were fraught with anguish.
"The night we went to Telstra Tower [on Thursday for the vigil] where it shone blue for her, it sunk in that she is missing and that something bad has gone wrong here," Ms Toombs said.
"When this happened it was an absolute shock for everyone … It definitely makes you think about the times you spend with people, and treasure them more."
Her friends said Kathleen had always been smiling on the soccer field, and she was liked by everyone.
Brianna Herold, 19, was "shocked and happy" to hear Kathleen was safe. Ms Herold said seeing her again after her ordeal would be emotional.
"I think there will just be a lot of tears, we will tell her how proud of her we are," she said.
"I think it has really made us appreciate what we have."
The girls agreed it was amazing to see the community chip in to help, doing whatever they could to find Kathleen.
A vigil was held on Thursday night, and on Friday morning, community members banded together at Cooleman Court to distribute flyers with a picture of Kathleen's face and her car.
Christine Shaw, who helped photocopy about 30,000 flyers, said she was among 100 volunteers trying to get the word out, in the hours before Kathleen was discovered.
"The support was just brilliant, with the whole two and three degrees of separation in this town," she said.
"If you didn't know Kat personally you knew someone who did or who knew one of her friends. In my case, my daughter is of similar age, you just couldn't comprehend what her parents were going through."
"There are a lot of people around Australia who bag out Canberra because of the politicians, but they don't understand.
"Canberra has an incredible spirit, we really do," she said.
