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British woman murdered attempting to kayak the Amazon, days after posting she feared being killed

A woman has died in the Amazon just days after posting how scared she was of being murdered.

Emma Kelty, a 41-year-old British primary school principal, was last heard from when she triggered a distress signal on September 13 in a notoriously dangerous stretch of the Amazon, The Guardian reports.

Ms Kelty, a self-confessed adrenaline junkie, was kayaking alone along for 42 days on a 6,400km journey from Peru through Brazil to the Amazon’s river mouth on the Atlantic Ocean, when she set off a signal to alert the Brazilian navy.

She was camped on an island near Lauro Sodre, two hours away from Coari.

Ms Kelty was found dead from two gunshot wounds. Source: Twitter/ Emma Kelty
Ms Kelty was found dead from two gunshot wounds. Source: Twitter/ Emma Kelty

Before her trip she joked on Facebook about her adventure, saying she had to get “through the notorious drug baron and organ harvesting folks”.

“So in or near Coari [100km away] I will have my boat stolen and I will be killed too. Nice,” Ms Kelty posted on September 10 as she entered a dangerous stretch of the river.

Two days later she said she was “in the clear” but just hours later claimed she had encountered trouble.

“Turned corner and found 50 guys in motor boats with arrows!!! My face must have been a picture!! (Town was uber quiet... too quiet!!) all go ...” she posted.

Ms Kelty's last tweets. Source: Twitter/ Emma Kelty
Ms Kelty's last tweets. Source: Twitter/ Emma Kelty

“OK 30 guys ... but either way ... that’s a lot of folks in one area in boats with arrow and rifles.”

On September 13, the same day she sent the signal, she posted she had met “three lovely locals” but later added she’d seen “such dramatic change in one day”.

“But such is the river…. every Km is different and just because 1 area is bad doesn’t mean next is,” she posted.

It’s believed on this day, Ms Kelty pitched her tent before setting off a flare.

Police are speaking to a number of people under suspicion of murdering the 43-year-old. Source: Twitter/ Emma Kelty
Police are speaking to a number of people under suspicion of murdering the 43-year-old. Source: Twitter/ Emma Kelty

She was later found dead in the river from two gunshot wounds. The Brazilian navy found some of her belongings along with her kayak on Friday.

In a statement, police said they had arrested two 17-year-old boys under suspicion of murdering Ms Kelty. They are also searching for four other suspects.

One of them told police Ms Kelty was camped on Boiero Island when two people approached her.

Five others then arrived and stole her belongings before she was shot twice with a sawn-off, 20 calibre shotgun. Her body was then thrown into the river.

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The teen said the group tried to sell her two mobile phones, a tablet computer and a GoPro in local communities.

Coari chief detective Jose Afonso Barradas Junior said the region was problematic for pirates who committed robberies and there were drugs coming from Colombia.

The Mirror reports Ms Kelty had recently done a skiing return solo journey to the South Pole.

Ms Kelty was on a lengthy journey through the Amazon. Source: Twitter/ Emma Kelty
Ms Kelty was on a lengthy journey through the Amazon. Source: Twitter/ Emma Kelty

She had also spoken with explorer Olie Hunter Smart who completed a similar journey in 2015.

Mr Smart described her as an “incredibly brave and courageous person”.

A statement from Ms Kelty’s family said they were extremely proud of her and her “strength would be sorely missed”.

The investigation into her death continues.