An elderly woman who went missing is feared to have been killed by a
crocodile after Australian police found possible human remains and a
walking stick near a creek on Thursday.
Anne Cameron, 79, who police said might have dementia, was last seen
on Tuesday at a care home near the tourist town of Port Douglas on
Australia’s northeastern coast.
Queensland Police and the State Emergency Service were searching for
her when they came across clothing and a walking stick with her name on
it.
“We’ve also located some biological matter which we believe to be
human remains,” Queensland Police Acting Inspector Ed Lukin told
reporters.
“We continue to search the area in the hopes that we find her alive.”
But he said that as the items were “located near (a) creek bank, we cannot rule out the possibility of a croc attack”.
Lukin said police believed Cameron had wandered into the dense
bushland, where she became lost, but it was not known if she had entered
the water.
“She may suffer from dementia and her clothes may have been removed voluntarily,” he added.
A 2.6-metre (8.5-foot) long saltwater crocodile was caught at Dickson
Inlet near Four Mile Beach in Port Douglas in August, according to the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The broadcaster also said the beach was closed in April when a
four-metre croc was spotted swimming offshore, while there had been
several attacks by the reptiles on dogs in the area this year.
Saltwater crocodile numbers have exploded since they were declared a
protected species in the 1970s, with recent attacks reigniting debate
about controlling them.
The “salties”, which can grow up to seven metres long and weigh more
than a tonne, are a common feature of the vast continent’s tropical
north and kill an average of two people a year.
AFP
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