A young woman's courage, a stop at a service station and the instincts of country police have ended a two-month hostage ordeal, and potentially saved the woman's life in the process.
The 22-year-old British backpacker was rescued by police early on Sunday evening after they found her injured and terrified behind the wheel of a four-wheel drive in the rural Queensland town of Mitchell.
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Backpacker's outback hostage ordeal
A 22-year-old British backpacker was allegedly "gagged", raped and physically assaulted during a month-long ordeal across Queensland. Vision courtesy Seven News Melbourne.
Police then found her 22-year-old alleged attacker hiding in a storage compartment in the back of the vehicle.
The man, from NSW but living in Cairns, has been charged with a string of offences including four counts of rape, eight counts of assault, four counts of strangulation, and counts of deprivation of liberty.
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Remanded at the Toowoomba watchhouse, he is due to face court again next week.
How it happened
The pair first met on January 27 at a trance music festival or "bush doof" outside Cairns, before starting a relationship.
However police said it was only a few days before the man allegedly began abusing the woman, who police said had been in Australia on a working visa since April 2015.
After leaving Cairns some time last week, they travelled through the state with stops at towns including Bowen and Gordonsvale, with the woman doing the bulk of the driving against her will and the man occasionally hiding in an alcove in the Mitsubishi Pajero to avoid detection.
The alleged abuse continued during their journey, and Detective Inspector Paul Hart said it would have been nearly impossible for the woman to escape.
"We don't want to speculate, but it is fair to say that she is a tourist, a lot of the areas where she would have been would have been unknown to her, and she wouldn't have known anyone there, so it would have been difficult for her to make an escape," he said.
"From the information we've been provided she had very limited opportunity to try and do that anyway."
However, a petrol stop at the Mitchell Caltex alerted locals to her dire situation.
The service station owner, Beverley Page told Seven News she alerted police after the visibly shaken woman drove off without paying for petrol.
"She was distressed, she was crying and she was shaking and she had two black eyes and she had marks on the side of her neck," Ms Page said.
Police pulled the four-wheel-drive over, and noticed immediately that something was wrong.
"It appears she was terrified and not able to hide that," police said.
'Great courage' to speak to police
Police said the young woman showed 'great courage' in detailing her abuse. Photo: Facebook
The woman had facial fractures, cuts and bruising and was taken to the police station, where arresting officer Acting Sergeant David Harper said she told police about her alleged attacker.
"The allegations (are) that he's made threats to her in relation to alerting any person or police."
Inspector Hart said the young woman, originally from Liverpool, showed "great courage" to provide the detail she had about her ordeal.
"What she's experienced is no doubt horrific and terrifying, and we commend her for taking the opportunity to speak to our police out at Mitchell," he said.
"I'm sure as we can all appreciate the charges speak for themselves in terms of what she's had to endure."
The woman was taken to Roma Hospital, where she was treated and then released. It's understood she will be transported to a Brisbane Hospital on Wednesday morning for additional treatment.
What happens next
The man has been remanded in the Toowoomba watchhouse, and he is due to face court again next week.
As for the investigation, inspector Hart said it is in its infancy as it will take the combined effort of a number of police stations to build their case.
"(The man allegedly) committed a number of offences against her as they travelled around the state," he said.
One of the charges the man is facing relates to the alleged damage of the woman's passport, which means she cannot return home for now. Police would also not say whether her family would fly over from the UK to support her here.
"At this point in time they are just waiting to see how our investigation transpires," Inspector Hart said.
"Of paramount importance to us though, is the welfare of this particular young lady.
"That is a priority for us: to make sure that her well being is looked after and her welfare is taken care of, and I can certainly assure you that is taking place."