true crime

A 24-year-old man has been charged with the attempted murder of Jessica Hamill.

A man will face court charged with the attempted murder of a young woman who went missing in far north Queensland.

Jessica Hamill, 20, was reunited with her family in hospital about 18 hours after she went missing from her home in Port Douglas around midnight on Tuesday.

A 24-year-old man has now been charged with a string of offences, including attempted murder, assault occasioning bodily harm and strangulation.

He is expected to face Cairns Magistrates Court on Thursday afternoon.

On Wednesday, police had said they were “extremely concerned” for Ms Hamill’s welfare after she failed to turn up for work and a search was launched.

Police spotted a black 2012 Holden Commodore station wagon on the Kennedy Highway following a public tip-off about the car.

Tyre spikes were used without success to try to stop it and the car eventually crashed down a steep embankment on the Kuranda Range on Wednesday night.

Emergency services found Ms Hamill in the wreck of a car and she was taken to Cairns Base Hospital in a stable condition.