Salt Creek attack detectives appeal for help from mysery Crime Stoppers caller
Police investigating the horrific abduction of two female tourists in South Australia are searching for a member of the public who may have information about the case.
Detectives said a caller made contact with police on February 10 shortly after the ordeal at Salt Creek in the state’s south east. They now want to speak to that person again.
A man was arrested in remote sand dunes in South Australia’s Coorong region, about 200 kilometres from Adelaide, on February 9 after fishermen and locals recued two women he is now accused of kidnapping and trying to kill.
The man cannot be named or shown for legal reasons. He is also facing rape charges.
Investigators from Task Force Coorong said a member of the public called Crime Stoppers with specific information the following day at 11.13pm.
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Inspector Trent Cox said police now needed to speak to that person again, urging them to call back as soon as possible.
Two young, female backpackers were discovered naked, bleeding and seriously hurt in the remote area on February 9 when fishermen in the area found one woman running panic-stricken from sand dunes.
A group of up to a dozen locals soon descended on the area and located the man now accused of abducting them.
The second woman was located at the same place.
Amateur video footage showed police arresting the man in the dunes, however, court suppression orders now prevents the publication of the footage.
The young Brazilian and German women met the 59-year-old man through classifieds website, Gumtree, and were planning to travel with him to Melbourne when they stopped off at the dunes near Salt Creek.
Police have since began investigating similarities between the cases with a cold case murder in Tasmania more than 20 years.
Investigators insist there is no evidence to link the 59-year-old to other crimes in the Coorong but they have said the intend to leave no stones unturned.
The accused, whose identity has been suppressed, has been charged with a string of offenses including unlawful sexual intercourse and attempted murder.
He is due to face court in April.
News break – March 4
