Teens trapped in tree for 22 hours as huge crocodile killed pal and ‘paraded’ his body
WARNING DISTRESSING CONTENT – A 22-year-old man was killed by a crocodile as the deadly predator ‘showed off’ its victim to his two teenage friends who were trapped on top of a tree for 22 hours.
The horror ordeal took the life of 22-year-old Brett Mann(Image: Press Association/Northern Territory Police)
A 22-year-old man from Australia was killed by a crocodile as the animal took its victim by the shoulders and disappeared underwater. The horror ordeal didn’t end there.
Two of the man’s friends, aged 19, were trapped in a tree for 22 hours as they tried to avoid getting killed by the same saltwater crocodile as the animal ‘showed off’ their friend’s mangled body to them from the rising floodwaters below.
In December 2003, Brett Mann tragically lost his life at just 22 in the Finniss River in Australia’s Northern Territory, 50 miles south-west of Darwin. Mann fell prey to the 13-foot (four meters) long crocodile after the three friends had gone quad-biking along a muddy trail in an abandoned tin mine beside the river — and stopped by the waterbody to bathe.
Mann was killed by the ‘saltie’, the nickname for saltwater crocs in Australia, and the lethal predator horrifically kept his body in its jaws and ‘paraded’ its victim while his two friends watched in horror from a tree nearby. The pair had quickly climbed to the top in a bid to escape the same fate as their friend.
Two teens managed to escape death in a terrifying crocodile incident that took their friend’s life(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
Shaun Blowers and Ashley McGough, both 19, recounted their nightmare ordeal as they witnessed their friend lose his life to the deadly beast. Blowers shared that the crocodile had also attempted to lunge at them, but the teenage friends managed to scramble up a tree in the overflowing stream and found a way to avoid certain death by staying perched there. Both teens were found by a police search party 22 hours later.
In a statement released at the time, Blowers explained Mann had “lost his footing and got swept away”, sharing: “Brett went out just a little bit further, it was a real sandy bank and just lost his footing and got swept away.
“We both jumped in and swam after him and we got in front of him and were leading him back to the bank. I went past the croc, I didn’t see it. Ashley screamed out ‘croc, croc’. We just swam to the nearest tree and straight up we went.
“We were looking around for Brett (but) didn’t hear a thing, didn’t hear a scream, no splashing or anything.”
It turns out, the croc had taken Mann by the shoulders and dragged him underwater — a hunting tactic used by salties to drown their prey.
Brett Mann, 22, lost his life to a 13-foot crocodile(Image: Press Association)
Mann said: “Two minutes later the croc brought Brett to the surface and pretty much showed him off to us and off he swam. Five minutes later he was back stalking the tree around us. He just hung around us all night and pretty much all the next morning.”
Blowers and McGough were eventually airlifted from the area by rescue services via a helicopter and taken to Darwin, where they were treated for exposure and shock.
The Guardian reports Northern Territory police spokesman John McCourt saying: “During the evening it was so dark they couldn’t see themselves. They wouldn’t have had any idea whether the waters would rise or fall. If they rose they’d probably have been done for.”
Blowers’ father, Greg, told The Guardian 22-year-old Mann was “the best bloke I’ve ever known”. He told the publication at the time: “I just hope the rangers can find it and get our old mate Brett back, and put a bullet in its head.
Australia’s Northern Territory is home to 100,000 saltwater crocodiles(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
“I’m pretty grateful I’m going to have a full family for Christmas. I think I probably appreciate that a hell of a lot more than I used to.”
While authorities searched extensively for Mann’s remains, it’s reported that they were never able to recover them. Later that month in December of 2003, the BBC reported the man-eating crocodile was believed to have been shot dead by wildlife rangers as per the police.
According to the latest figures, a staggering 100,000 saltwater crocodiles — more than anywhere in the world — are estimated to be scattered across Australia’s Northern Territory. They continue to remain a protected species in Australia, although their numbers have risen dramatically since hunting bans were introduced in the 1970s.
Salties have reportedly been linked with close to 20 fatal human attacks over the past 20 years, including the death of a 12-year-old girl in July 2024.
