A desperate search for a missing teenage girl has ended in heartache as her body is found in remote bushland some six weeks after she posted disturbing TikTok videos.
Tea Wright-Finger, 19, vanished after she was dropped off by a friend near Richmond, 500km west of Townsville, Queensland, on October 16.
She wasn’t seen or heard from since, despite a massive air and land search spanning thousands of kilometres.
Police later revealed the car she was last seen in, a blue Toyota Prado, had been stolen two days before Ms Wright-Finger disappeared.
A mustering helicopter found the abandoned vehicle in remote bushland near Richmond on Thursday morning.
Hours after the breakthrough, search crews located the body of a woman believed to be Ms Wright-Finger in bushland some 600m away.
The body of Tea Wright-Finger has been found, six weeks after she vanished without a trace
Preliminary information suggests Ms Wright-Finger’s death is not suspicious.
‘Police have spoken to Tea’s family, and we extend our deep condolences to her family and loved ones,’ a statement read.
‘Investigators would like to thank the SES local property owners and the community for their assistance and information provided during the search for Tea.’
The dramatic development came just hours after Queensland Police released footage of the moment detectives found the car.
Footage shows officers landing a helicopter and approaching the car. A gloved hand then opens the passenger side’s front door to reveal an open glove box with a pink container inside.
The Toyota Prado was reported stolen from Proserpine 700km away on October 14, two days before Ms Wright disappeared.
Dramatic footage of the moment police located a blue Toyota Prado driven by the teen missing in the remote outback has been released by police, six weeks after she vanished without a trace
Police found the stolen Toyota Prado in remote bushland near Richmond in outback Queensland on Wednesday morning
Tea Wright-Finger (pictured) vanished without a trace on October 16. The search ended in tragedy six weeks later after her body was found on Thursday
Detectives scaled back the search last month after nine days, but recently ramped the investigation back up again – releasing fresh CCTV of Ms Wright-Finger wandering around a Richmond service station on October 16.
The CCTV captured the teen wearing a light pink and purple dress and a pair of Birkenstock sandals before she paid for a bottle of juice at the counter.
Ms Wright-Finger appeared to be looking over her shoulder at various points in the CCTV before she walked out of the petrol station, never to be seen again.
Her mum Traci Wright issued a frantic plea for information at the time.
The 2013 blue Toyota Prado (pictured) Ms Wright-Finger was last seen travelling in was found on Wednesday
‘If someone has seen Téa or knows anything please call the police or myself,’ she posted.
Several days days earlier, Ms Wright thanked friends and family who been in touch and helped spread word about the search for Téa
‘This has helped me so much to cope, as I don’t feel alone, and everyone is helping carry the pain,’ Mr Wright wrote.
‘I honestly do not believe I would be coping if I did not have all my family, friends and people I have never met offering there love, support, prayers, positive thoughts.
Les than a fortnight before she went missing, the cattle station worker posted a haunting TikTok video, which was captioned, ‘I don’t feel so good, I want to go home.’
The video – featuring pictures of Ms Wright-Finger and rural outback scenes – has since been inundated with comments from worried friends.
The post sparked an outpouring of concern and grief from concerned friends.
Ms Wright-Finger was captured on CCTV wandering around a Richmond roadhouse on October 16 in the hours before she vanished
The teenager posted a series of concerning TikTok videos in the weeks leading up to her disappearance
Another of her final TikTok posts was on her 19th birthday where she detailed the lessons she had learnt so far in life.
That included the ominous warning that: ‘It’s okay to feel lost sometimes’.
‘Always take risks in life, you never know when it’s going to end,’ she says in the clip.
‘You always have to work hard to get what you want, no one is going to hand it to you. If people want you in their life, they will make time for you.’
Another TikTok video posted before Tea vanished revealed her pain and anguish at the loss of loved one in a touching tribute video.
She combined clips of the young man joking around with mates and an apparent memorial service where friends and families released balloons in his memory.
Ms Wright-Finger was working at Richmond Downs Station, where she loved her job, according to her mum.
Tea Wright-Finger posted her last TikTok video 12 days before she went missing. Her body was found in remote bushland on Thursday, six weeks after she vanished
Tracy Wright (left) has spent the last six weeks desperate to find out what happened to her daughter (right)
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