A pair of flip flops was all that remained of an Australian man who is feared to have been snatched and killed by a huge crocodile.
The 65-year-old, identified as Kevin Darmody, was fishing for barramundi on the Kennedy River in the far north of Queensland when he suddenly vanished from the riverbank on Saturday.
Fishermen and campers nearby reported hearing splashes and “a commotion”.
They said that after he disappeared, “only his thongs” – Australian slang for flip flops – were left on the riverbank.
It is feared that Mr Darmody was taken by a large crocodile, which are plentiful in the river.
The huge reptiles use an ambush technique, hiding just beneath the surface before exploding out of the water and snatching their prey, which includes wild pigs, cattle and – occasionally – humans.
A large search involving police officers and wildlife rangers was underway for Mr Darmody from first light on Sunday after he disappeared on Saturday afternoon.
Boats and helicopters were deployed to look for the missing man.
Police and rangers were searching the area around where the fisherman vanished – Kennedy Bend camping area in Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park, on the wild and sparsely populated Cape York peninsula.
Authorities said the area is “known croc country and known to contain large crocodiles”.
Mr Darmody ran a pub called the Peninsula Hotel in the tiny, remote town of Laura in the far north of Queensland, about 50 miles from the spot where he disappeared.
He is a keen fisherman, posting photos on Facebook in which he holds huge fish he has caught, including barramundi.
He also posted a series of images which shows a large crocodile apparently attacking and mauling a smaller crocodile.
Officials from Queensland’s environment department said that roads leading into that part of Rinyirru National Park were closed due to the “possible crocodile incident”.
Friends, who feared the worst, paid tributes to Mr Darmody, describing him as “a bloody top bloke”.
Bart Harrison said a friend of his was close to the place where Mr Darmody vanished.
“A lad came up on the road shouting ‘he’s gone, he’s gone’ and my mate ran down the bank, and said the water was all stirred up and dirty, you could see something bad happened,” he told The Cairns Post.
“He was standing right there fishing a few minutes earlier, then he was gone, his thongs were left on the bank. He had lived up here since I was a kid, been at the pub a long time, went fishing a lot. He knew the river pretty well, it really is sad.”
Lying more than 200 miles north west of Cairns, Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park consists of grasslands, wetlands, coastal estuaries and mangroves – ideal saltwater crocodile habitat.
Saltwater crocodiles are widespread in the rivers, swamps and coastal waters of northern Queensland and can grow to a length of six metres – around 20ft.
People visiting or living in crocodile territory across the north of Australia are told never to swim where the reptiles may be present, to look out for crocodile slide marks on river banks and not to dangle arms or legs out of boats.
Fishermen are advised never to clean fish or discard scraps near the water’s edge.
“Just because you can’t see a crocodile, it doesn’t mean there is not one close by,” Queensland wildlife authorities warn.
“Crocodiles can stay underwater for more than an hour. Even large crocodiles can be completely concealed in knee-deep water.
“Stay at least five metres from the water’s edge—crocodiles often hunt their prey at the water’s edge.”
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