According to police, the 12-year-old was, as feared, the victim of a crocodile attack. Emergency services discovered her human remains in the water where the girl was last seen on Tuesday, police spokeswoman Erica Gibson confirmed. “The remains have been recovered,” she told Australian broadcaster ABC. The discovery was “extremely gruesome, sad and devastating.”
The girl was on holiday with her family in the area near the Aboriginal community of Nganmarriyanga – about 360 kilometres south-west of Darwin. She was swimming in Mango Creek with several family members when she suddenly disappeared. A crocodile was reportedly spotted in the immediate vicinity. Since then, an extensive search for the missing girl has been underway.
Remains indicate crocodile attack
Gibson said the remains found indicated a crocodile attack. “It has been an extremely difficult 36 hours for the rescue workers involved in the search,” she said. The family is “in a state of extreme shock and disbelief.” The tragedy is a stark reminder that there is always a chance of crocodiles in the waters of the Northern Territory.
Hours earlier, officials had found a T-shirt belonging to the girl. The item of clothing had been discovered upstream from where the child was last seen. The emergency services were deployed with boats and a helicopter. Police Minister Brent Potter had already announced on Wednesday that there was probably no hope of finding the girl alive.
According to government figures, there are over 100,000 saltwater crocodiles in the Northern Territory – more than in any other state in Australia. The animals, which can grow up to six metres long and are also known as “salties”, are considered extremely aggressive. There are also freshwater crocodiles (“freshies”) in the area, but they are less dangerous. On average, there are two fatal crocodile attacks per year in the whole country. Just in June, members of an Aboriginal community in the region shot and communally ate a “problem crocodile” that had previously repeatedly approached animals and people.
