Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au

Aaron Bunch
Search ends for man missing in Daintree

Police have suspended the search for a missing Victorian man who walked away from his bogged ute in North Queensland eight days ago.

December 30, 2019

An eight-day search for a missing Victorian man who bogged his ute in North Queensland’s Daintree rainforest has been suspended.

Milan Lemic, 25, disappeared on December 22 after his car got stuck at Bairds Crossing near the Upper Daintree Village.

A witness offered to get a tractor to help free the vehicle, but when he returned 20 minutes later Mr Lemic was gone, leading to fears he may have been taken by a crocodile.

But that was dismissed after a search of the Daintree River found there were no crocodiles in the area big enough to take a human.

An air, land and river search using drones, a boat and quad bikes failed to find Mr Lemic, who police feared may have been avoiding rescuers.

“We will be suspending search operations at the last known position of the missing person,” Senior Sergeant Ed Lukin told reporters on Monday.

“The family has been notified of this development.”

The decision follows a “credible but unconfirmed” sighting of Mr Lemic in the Daintree area on Boxing Day.

“This person fitted the description … he was with a short Indigenous male,” Senior Sergeant Lukin.

Police are working to identify the man and have begun contacting isolated communities in Far North Queensland. 

Members of the public who saw the men are asked to contact police.

Senior Sergeant Lukin also made a plea for Mr Lemic to contact police or his family, who he said are “distraught”.

“We would like to put the family’s mind at rest,” he said.

“They’re very loving parents who are very concerned about the absence of their child.”

Comments are closed.

Latest Stories
archive
date published
March 2024
M T W T F S S
« Feb    
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031