Two fishermen rescued an empty runaway that they found perched on a tree branch in an Australian crocodile habitat. Cam Faust said Wednesday that he and fellow recreational fisherman Kev Joiner heard Luke Voskresensky, 40, on Sunday as they set crab traps on the boat in the mangroves on the outskirts of the northern city of Darwin.
Faust said Voskresensky – who was covered in mud, cuts and insect bites – explained that he had been lost for four days, survived by eating snails and used his clothes “for pieces along the way”.
“It didn’t make sense to us,” Faust said, referring to his nudity. “He had a nest in the tree and was only a meter above the water and they were crispy in the water, so he did well to survive.”
Joiner said his friends hesitated before bringing Voskresensky on board.
“Once we saw how bad he was and how many cuts he had on him and he was dehydrated and quite weak … we thought it would be better to take him to the boat,” Joiner said.
“I thought he must have had a great night after New Year’s Eve and got lost and did something bad in the bush,” he added.
Faust said he took off his underwear and handed Voskresensky shorts and a beer as the trio headed for Darwin.
“He looked like he needed a beer, even though it was in a bad way,” Faust said.
An ambulance was waiting at a Darwin boat ramp when they arrived. Voskresensky was taken to a Darwin hospital, where he was placed under police guard while being treated for exposure.
Police said Voskresensky was released on bail after being charged with armed robbery, aggravated multiple assaults, deprivation of liberty and theft. But he cut off his electronic monitoring device last week and tried to evade police.
As he was hospitalized, Voskresensky was excused from appearing in court on Tuesday to face new bail charges and aggravated assault, court official Xavier La Canna said.
Voskresensky will appear in court on Feb. 9, La Canna said.
Faust said he decided not to visit Voskresensky at the hospital after discovering he had been wanted by police.