Smash hit

Police and rangers searched the river and surrounding area again today, including under logs and at the bottom of the river where crocodiles usually stash their prey after an attack. They spotted a couple of large crocodiles during their search, but all they found of Mr Booker was another of his sandals. Police say they have “no concrete evidence” Mr Booker was taken by a crocodile, and plan to resume the search tomorrow.

Terry Rayner, the owner of the Endeavour River campsite, told Times Online they have scores of crocodiles in the area, as well as other animals such as deadly snakes and bull sharks.

Despite this, Mr Rayner said he had never known of anyone being attacked by a crocodile in his campsite.

“I’ve heard of a dog being taken on the other branch of the Endeavour [River], but nothing like this,” said Mr Rayner, who believes one of the smaller crocodiles is responsible for Mr Booker’s disappearance.

“When people check in we try and teach them to be croc-wise, but this man was a Vietnam vet, he did everything right except that he was checking out that morning so he went down to get his crab pots, and it was high tide. It’s a very steep bank, almost verticle, and he was just unlucky.

“It’s just one of those things, totally bad luck, he was plumb unlucky. It’s like getting hit by a bolt of lightning.”

Craig Franklin, a crocodile specialist from the University of Queensland, said it was most likely that Mr Booker had unwittingly formed a pattern while checking his pots, and therefore opened himself up to a potential crocodile attack.

“Crocodiles are opportunistic predators. If an opportunity presents itself and it’s a prey item, which they can take safely, they will stalk it and ambush it,” said Professor Franklin, who helped in the search for Barry Jeffries three years ago.

“They will sit underwater and watch the pattern made by the prey and then ambush it, and they lunge up out of the water at such a rate and with such force that you wouldn’t have a chance.”

Duncan Faichney, a local who has been fishing in the area for more than 40 years told The Australian newspaper he would never go in the water as Mr Booker is suspected to have done.

“You wouldn’t see me doing that,” he told the paper. “You’d never get me in the water around here. There’s crocodile all around here. You don’t go near them and they won’t eat you – that’s the deal.”

Mr and Mrs Booker, who regularly take their caravan on Outback adventures, live in Logan, near Brisbane. Mr Booker is listed in the Australian War Memorial as having served in two tours of duty in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969.

Mrs Booker was so distraught at her husband’s disappearance she was treated in hospital. Her sister flew to Cooktown to be with her and the couple’s children were also believed to have travelled to the area to help with the search.

Her brother, Mike Watson, told reporters the family was still "hoping against hope" he would be found safe and well.

"Doris is shattered, she still doesn't believe it, none of us believe what's actually happened," Mr Watson said. "(He was) a great person, great father, great husband, great brother-in-law, son-in-law, the best. A really nice guy." Mr Booker was described as a true-blue Aussie who loved the outdoors.

The Endeavour River is named after Captain James Cook’s ship, which was stuck on a reef 5km away in 1770.

The picturesque area is a tropical savannah which is rich with coastal dunes, freshwater wetlands, mangrove forests and tropical woodlands and is extremely popular with tourists exploring the far north of Australia.

Sightseers are continually warned by locals to be “croc-wise”. A Queensland government website warns: “When fishing, always stand a few metres back from the water’s edge. Never swim, dangle legs or arms in the water or prepare food near the water’s edge. Be croc-wise.”

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