Two friends who were laying crab traps in North Australia on Sunday reportedly stumbled upon a naked fugitive clinging to branches while dangling over a crocodile-infested swamp.
Kev Joiner and Cam Faust were in East Point near the city of Darwin when they heard a man wailing for help, according to BBC. The duo found the unidentified fugitive hanging onto the branches of mangroves, just mere feet above waters swamped with crocodiles, according to the report.
Joiner and Faust say the man told them that he had been out there for four days and survived by living off snails.
Naked fugitive rescued from mangroves by Australian fishermen
Two fishermen have rescued a naked fugitive who they found clinging to trees over a crocodile-infested swamp in northern Australia.
Kev Joiner and Cam…
me: https://t.co/fh5JD5mlH8
to know: https://t.co/nElCLjTvrU pic.twitter.com/QfkCa35nTU— Manib Kumar (@ManibKumar15) January 5, 2021
“We didn’t believe him at first,” Faust told the BBC. “Then we realized he was in a bad way and done himself a mischief and were like oh, we better help him.” (RELATED: Surfer Attacked By Shark In Australia Manages To Swim To Shore, Walks 1000 Feet For Help)
The friends say the man had told them he had gone out for a New Years Eve concert, according to BBC. The fishermen offered the man a ride on their boat, giving him a beer and some shorts as they made their way back to land.
“[He was] completely naked, cuts all over him, swollen feet, covered in mud,” Faust told 9News.
Police later confirmed to Australian media that the recovered man was actually a wanted fugitive who escaped custody days earlier, BBC reported. The man had allegedly breached bail for armed robbery, according to 9News.
