A young backpacker’s final moments were captured in haunting images after she fell into a volcano, with questions now mounting after she was reportedly “abandoned” by her tour guide.
Juliana Marins, a 26-year-old from Brazil, had a heart wired for exploration. Since February, she had been on a dream journey through Southeast Asia, documenting each step and sharing messages with her loved ones back home – especially her mother, Estela, and father, Manoel Marins.
“Never try never fly,” she wrote in an Instagram post on June 10, before her profile was made private.
Meanwhile back home, the vibe was very different.
‘Fly Juju’
“Fly Juju Fly Fly,” writes her dad in a Facebook tribute to Juliana – his “Juju” – after her adventure of a lifetime ended in tragedy on June 21.
“Juliana lived the today, the now, the present. And she lived very well,” Manoel writes, adding that she had “the will to live, to be, to experience and not just to exist.”
“My beauty, my treasure, my daughter, my love. You have always been very special. Silly, restless, with a beautiful smile and an enormous will to live intensely.”
“My girl, in her only 26 years of life, outlived many twice or triple her age. Ju, I will always remember your smile, your witty jokes, your affection. And like I always told you I’m still here for you.”
Slips into volcano
On June 21, while hiking with a group of tourists on Lombok’s Mount Rinjani – one of the country’s most majestic but perilous volcanoes – Juliana slipped and fell.
According to the Sun, the group’s guide Ali Musthofa claimed she was taking a “break,” and was only “three minutes” behind the group.
When he backtracked looking for her, he discovered the Rio de Janeiro woman had fallen into the active volcano.
“I saw the light of a flashlight on a ravine about 150 meters deep and heard Juliana’s voice calling for help,” Musthofa said.
She initially plunged nearly 490 feet before sliding even further down the rocky slope of the volcanic landscape.
Cries for help
Juliana found herself isolated, injured, and clinging to a rock face. Her screams echoed off the walls of the crater as she waited – alone – for help that would take days to arrive.
For four long days, rescue teams fought treacherous terrain and adverse weather conditions in hopes of reaching her.
Then on June 24, a gut-wrenching update from Gunung Rinjani National Park revealed that drones located her body on a rocky cliff, motionless, at a depth of 1,600 feet.
Final text
While the woman was left stranded, injured and unable to climb back to safety, she sent a final text to her mom, who shared the message with Brazilian news outlet Fantástico.
“Mom, I love you so much. My heart broke when we said goodbye.” the text said. “Actually, that’s the only thing that worries me: letting you, Dad, or my sister down. Otherwise, I’m not afraid of much, much less of hardship.”
The message continued: “I was raised by a woman who can solve any problem and who isn’t afraid to take risks and go after her dreams. I’m like that too. I have different desires and dreams. I love you all very much! And I will always be grateful for all the support, care, and affection. That’s what makes me fearless.”
Autopsy results
The post-mortem revealed extensive internal bleeding and multiple serious fractures, injuries described as so severe that her death likely occurred within approximately 20 minutes.
But the exact moment that she died remains unclear. In the period between her fall and the day before her body was recovered, Juliana was reportedly heard calling out for help, and drone footage captured images indicating she was still alive inside the crater, suggesting she survived the initial impact before her condition worsened.
The circumstances surrounding the rescue have sparked criticism from her family, who argued Juliana was “abandoned,” and that the search was “botched.”
“Juliana was in this group, but she got very tired and asked to stop for a while. They kept going, and the guide didn’t stay with her,” Mariana Marins said of her sister, whose heartbreaking final moments were captured in drone images.
Deadly mountain
Mount Rinjani, an active volcano that last erupted in 2016, is known for both its allure and danger.
According to Asia News Network, nine hikers died between 2017 and 2024 from various causes, including exhaustion and accidents.
Just one month before Juliana’s tragic fall, a 57-year-old Malaysian hiker also died after falling from a cliff. Earlier in October, a 16-year-old from Jakarta met a similar fate.
But rarely has a tragedy captured the world’s attention like Juliana Marins.
Do you think more should have been done to help Juliana? Please let us know your thoughts in the comment section below and then share this story so we can hear from others!
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