Police in Australia said Wednesday that human remains discovered inside two crocodiles are thought to be those of a missing fisherman.
Officers believe the two crocodiles, which are around 13 feet 5 inches and 9 feet long, “were involved in an incident with the 65-year-old and were located upstream from where he was last seen,” according to a statement from Queensland Police.
The animals were exterminated by Department of Environment and Science (DES) wildlife officials, according to the statement, which also stated that the search for the man, identified by Australian media as Kevin Darmody, would be discontinued.
“Police will now prepare a report for the coroner,” according to the statement.
Since April 29, officers had been looking for the angler. According to police, he went “missing while fishing” in the Kennedy River near Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park. According to the statement, a helicopter assisted in the search in a remote area in northeast Australia.
According to the DES, Rinyirru National Park is crocodile or “croc” country. The species can be found in Rinyirru’s rivers, streams, marshes, wetlands, waterholes, and along its beaches, according to the department.
Despite the fact that crocodiles are widespread in the area, this is only the 13th fatal attack in Queensland since the state government began keeping track in 1985.
Darmody met with a “tragic, tragic ending”, according to Police Inspector Mark Henderson, who spoke to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
DES northern wildlife operations manager Michael Joyce told the media that the crocodiles were killed “within 10 seconds of one another.” He went on to say that finding two crocodiles eating the remains of one human victim was quite unusual.
“We didn’t think it was common, but this is the second time it’s happened,” he said, adding, “It’s obviously something that happens in crocodile populations in terms of behaviour.”
Sources: CNN, BBC, CBS News, ABC