Darwin, Australia.Human remains found in Black Jungle Swamp.

Human remains found near site where girl, 11, feared taken by crocodile in Northern Territory

By Tara Ravens
News.com.au
March 16, 2009 07:35pm

HUMAN remains have been found in a flooded creek near where an 11-year-old girl is believed to have been taken by a crocodile in rural Darwin.
An elite 10-man search squad, armed with rifles for their own protection, made the grisly find after more than 12 hours methodically trawling Black Jungle Swamp.

Superintendent Michael Murphy said the remains, believed to be body parts, would be subject to DNA testing for identification.

"No specifics will be given in relation to the trauma or the type of evidence located out of respect for the family," he said, adding that he could not "begin to understand the emotions they are encountering".

The child had been playing with her seven-year-old sister and two friends, aged 10 and 12, when she disappeared in the suburb of

Lambells Lagoon about 5.30pm (CST) yesterday.

Supt Murphy said the children told officers they had seen the tail and the mouth of a crocodil "splash the surface" moments before the girl disappeared.

"They are very upset, as you could understand," he said.

"This is very hard-hitting for the local community and it's hard-hitting for the Northern Territory and the rest of Australia - the loss of a young girl is a very tragic event."

Poor visibility and fast flowing water forced police to abandon their search last night. It resumed with the aid of a helicopter and four park rangers at first light today.

The highly trained and heavily armed police squad scoured a 2km water channel, braving water up to shoulder height before taking their search to the surrounding flood plain.

Despite the dense vegetation and murky water, police discovered a pair of board shorts about 70m downstream from where the missing girl was swimming.

A few hours later they found human remains 450m from the site, Supt Murphy said. The crime scene has now been closed and NT police are preparing a file for the coroner.

Local Michael Dobrobitch, who lives off the red dirt road that runs to the swamp, said it was unusual for saltwater crocodiles to come so far inland.

"(But) if they are breeding or hungry, and they can pick up a scent in the creek, or they get caught coming through the current, then the salties will venture into the freshwater," he said.

Mr Dobrobitch said kids were known to swim in the waterway, despite the fact it is a closed park with permits only usually granted for scientific studies.

"If you come from the town you'd be more scared of the grass and snakes and dingoes and crocodiles ... but being bush children it's just second nature to go into the bush and into the creek," Mr Dobrobitch said.

The girl is the second young crocodile victim this year.

In February, five-year-old Jeremy Doble died in the far north Queensland Daintree River after he followed his dog into the river where his parents run a tour company.

Last September, 62-year-old Vietnam veteran Arthur Booker died while checking crab pots at a campsite on the Endeavour River near Cooktown.