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05-05-2023
Bureau Report + Agencies
QUEENSLAND/ SYDNEY: The body of Australian fisherman Kevin Darmody was found inside a crocodile after he went missing on Saturday during a fishing trip in a remote part of northern Queensland.
The 65-year-old was last seen in a saltwater crocodile habitat at Kennedy’s Bend. Two large crocodiles were euthanized by police during a search of the area, with human body parts found inside one of them.
Darmody was a well-known member of the community in Cape York and an experienced fisherman. His friends reported hearing him yell followed by a loud splash, but they did not see the attack.
Attacks by crocodiles are rare in Australia’s tropical north, with Darmody’s death marking the 13th fatal attack in Queensland since 1985. Crocodiles are common in the region, and their population has rebounded since a hunting ban in 1974, with around 30,000 crocodiles now living in Queensland.
The state manages crocodile populations by removing “problem crocodiles” in areas where they threaten public safety, and in rare cases, euthanizing them. Australia’s Northern Territory is home to the world’s largest wild crocodile population, with some 100,000 reptiles.
Despite public campaigns to be cautious around rivers, there were an average of one to two deaths from crocodile attacks each year in the Territory from 2005 until 2018, but none since then.
Queensland police, the state emergency service and a Queensland government rescue helicopter had been searching for Darmody since police received reports of his disappearance on Saturday.
Detective Acting Inspector Jason Chetham had speculated that it was possible that Darmody had been dragged into the water by a large crocodile.
“It could have happened, for sure,” Chetham said, according to local media. “There was a noise, a loud yell, and then the sound of the water splashing.”
“It’s a national park and there are wild animals up there, wild crocodiles,” he added. “Obviously that’s one of the possibilities.”
DES notes that crocodiles can be found in the rivers, creeks, swamps, wetlands, waterholes and along beaches of Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park, which is home to both estuarine or saltwater crocodiles and relatively shy freshwater crocodiles.
