Missing businessman believed to be discovered inside crocodile as cops probe ‘serial killer’ reptile
Human remains believed to be missing businessman Gabriel Batista, 59, were found inside a crocodile in South Africa after it was euthanised, as cops await DNA results
Human remains have been found inside a crocodile(Image: Suburbancontrolcentre/Facebook)
Human remains have been found inside a crocodile suspected of attacking a missing man in South Africa. The grim discovery was made on Saturday (May 2) after the reptile was identified as the likely animal involved in the disappearance of a 59-year-old businessman.
The man, believed to be Gabriel Batista, from Vanderbijlpark, vanished after his Ford Ranger was found stuck at a low-lying bridge over the Komati River, in South Africa, on April 28. Search and rescue teams later recovered the crocodile in the Komatipoort area and found human remains inside it, which are believed to be those of the missing businessman.
The crocodile attack victim was likely swept away while attempting to cross the submerged low-level bridge, according to reports.
The crocodile was reportedly euthanised after the necessary permission was obtained. Colonel Mavela Masondo, a police spokesperson, informed the semiaquatic reptile was identified as the suspect behind the missing businessman.
The discovery was made by a multidisciplinary team following a-week long search operation, the Daily Sun reported. “The necessary permission was obtained to euthanise the crocodile,” Masondo said.
“It is then that the human remains were found and retrieved from the crocodile.” DNA testing will be conducted to confirm whether the remains belong to the missing businessman, the Daily Sun reported.
Investigators have also reportedly recovered around six pairs of shoes, including Crocs and flip-flops, from the reptile’s stomach along with the remains, raising questions over whether it could be linked to more than one death in the area, SABC News reported.
Police are still waiting for urgent DNA results to formally identify the remains, although officers are reported to be “quite certain” they belong to Batista. An inquest docket has reportedly been opened to establish the exact circumstances of the death, including whether the man drowned before being consumed or was attacked while trying to escape.
The bridge where the vehicle was found is also said to have been the scene of previous tragedies, with reports noting two South African National Defence Force members were swept away and killed there in December 2025. Earlier this year, a crocodile was observed emerging with a missing mother in its jaws in Indonesia.
The 19ft beast was lurking under the surface as Jusmitawati, 36, and her friends were collecting shellfish at a river in Aceh province, on February 15, the Daily Star previously reported. But the river beast pounced when the mother broke away from the group to venture deeper into the water.
Her panicked friends rushed back to the village in Simeulue Regency to call for help when Jusmitawati failed to answer their calls. As residents crowded around the murky Luan Boya River, the croc emerged and paraded the woman’s dismembered corpse around.
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