Police report possible sighting of man-eating croc

Authorities searching for a crocodile and the remains of a man it killed believe they may have spotted the reptile in the stretch of river where the attack took place in northern Australia, police said today.

The crocodile that killed Brett Mann, 22, on December 21 in the Northern Territory’s Finniss River was unusually large – at around 13ft – and experts are hopeful the creature was seen in the same stretch of the river late yesterday, provincial police spokesman John McCourt said.

“We are very encouraged by the sighting,” Mr McCourt said.

Mr Mann was killed by a saltwater crocodile after a current swept him from a bank in the Finniss River where he was bathing with two friends. The river twists through lush forest around 50 miles south of the state capital, Darwin.

Mr McCourt said yesterday’s sighting happened after emergency services broadened their search to a 15-mile area of the river around where Mr Mann was snatched.

Fifteen armed police and rangers aided by a helicopter and boat began searching the tropical waterway on Saturday, after torrential rains and flooding delayed their quest for five days.

After killing Mr Mann, the crocodile returned, chasing his two friends up a tree where they perched in terror for 22 hours while the huge reptile waited below.

The men were rescued from the tree the following morning.

Police said they will probably have to shoot the animal to recover Mr Mann’s body.