Andrew Heard, 69, left to fish near Hinchinbrook Island on Thursday, but did not return, according to Queensland police.
Investigators have since found human remains in the area and inside a 13.8-meter crocodile, police said Sunday.
“At this stage we can only confirm that we found human remains in the first,” Queensland Police Interim Inspector Andrew Cowie told a news conference on Monday, explaining that the examination process had not been completed on the second crocodile. .
Both animals were found in the area where Heard was believed to be fishing, Cowie said, and the characteristics of the second crocodile are consistent with their involvement in the incident.
“I think I involved the two crocodiles,” he said.
Police found a small ship with quite significant damage, said Cowie, who added that the investigation will be forwarded to the coroner.
“This is a tragic incident,” he said, urging people to be careful.
“It’s very important that people are always aware of their circumstances,” he said. “Anywhere in the north … if you’re in the bush, you’ll have snakes and if you’re on the water, you’ll have crocodiles.”
Cowie stressed that people need to take precautions.
“Always make sure you tell people where you’re going, always make sure you have the right safety equipment, always make sure you can get that safety equipment, if you need it, in a hurry,” he said. – Please be very careful.
Another fisherman told CNN affiliate 7News about his encounter with a large crocodile in the same area where Heard disappeared.
“It would have been the length of my boat,” Luke Nation told 7NEWS, adding that the 15-meter crocodile hit the hull of his ship. “It scared us. It certainly gave us our walking orders, I think.”
This is the third crocodile attack in Queensland this month, according to 7News, after swimmers from Cairns and Weipa survived their encounters.
Crocodile attacks are rare in Australia, but Queensland officials are conducting a public safety campaign to alert residents to the dangers of swimming or relaxing near crocus-infested waters.
In 2019, a Queensland fisherman easily escaped an attack by throwing a crocodile in his eye.
In September 2020, a massive 14-foot crocodile was caught at a tourist spot in neighboring northern territory.