01/19/2007 Thomas Houghton (Australia) ***Fatal***
Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2007 8:36 pm
Shark theory over body missing at sea
24.01.2007
By JANE GARDNER
jgardner@northernstar.com.au
RESCUE teams fear the body of a Brunswick Heads man who disappeared at sea on Friday was taken by sharks.
The search for Thomas Houghton, 20, was called off on Sunday afternoon after the discovery of human organs in the Brunswick River by lifeguards at 11am.
Two hours earlier, a rescue helicopter team from the Gold Coast reported seeing a pack of five sharks in a feeding frenzy 500 metres out to sea off the Brunswick River mouth.
Far North Coast lifeguard supervisor Peter Baird said because the shark sighting occurred shortly before the remains surfaced in the river, there was a likely connection.
"If you put two and two together you have to make an assumption," he said.
"We are fairly confident they are human remains."
Police have refused to comment on whether or not they belonged to Thomas Houghton until tests have been completed at a forensic lab in Newcastle.
Mr Houghton was swimming with three friends 400m outside the flagged area at Brunswick Heads Beach when he was caught in a rip at around 1pm last Friday. Two friends swim- ming with him tried to pull him out of it, but lost their grip.
On that day, the conditions on the beach were treacherous, with a 1.5m swell and a number of rips on the beach and the nearby river rushing out to sea.
A massive search effort was abandoned on Monday due to a combination of the organ discovery and lack of resources, however, the family continued to search the river with a private boat.
Meanwhile, Mr Baird has warned swimmers that beach conditions are set to worsen.
"Over the next few days choppy swell is slowly getting bigger and we advise people to be very cautious and take the directions of the lifeguards," he said.
http://www.northernstar.com.au:80/story ... ID=3718836
24.01.2007
By JANE GARDNER
jgardner@northernstar.com.au
RESCUE teams fear the body of a Brunswick Heads man who disappeared at sea on Friday was taken by sharks.
The search for Thomas Houghton, 20, was called off on Sunday afternoon after the discovery of human organs in the Brunswick River by lifeguards at 11am.
Two hours earlier, a rescue helicopter team from the Gold Coast reported seeing a pack of five sharks in a feeding frenzy 500 metres out to sea off the Brunswick River mouth.
Far North Coast lifeguard supervisor Peter Baird said because the shark sighting occurred shortly before the remains surfaced in the river, there was a likely connection.
"If you put two and two together you have to make an assumption," he said.
"We are fairly confident they are human remains."
Police have refused to comment on whether or not they belonged to Thomas Houghton until tests have been completed at a forensic lab in Newcastle.
Mr Houghton was swimming with three friends 400m outside the flagged area at Brunswick Heads Beach when he was caught in a rip at around 1pm last Friday. Two friends swim- ming with him tried to pull him out of it, but lost their grip.
On that day, the conditions on the beach were treacherous, with a 1.5m swell and a number of rips on the beach and the nearby river rushing out to sea.
A massive search effort was abandoned on Monday due to a combination of the organ discovery and lack of resources, however, the family continued to search the river with a private boat.
Meanwhile, Mr Baird has warned swimmers that beach conditions are set to worsen.
"Over the next few days choppy swell is slowly getting bigger and we advise people to be very cautious and take the directions of the lifeguards," he said.
http://www.northernstar.com.au:80/story ... ID=3718836