Body of Brendan Doherty, 55, recovered from Darwin Harbour after overnight search

A tradie who died after getting caught in strong tides near Darwin has been remembered as ‘a good man with a good heart’ by an eyewitness who says ‘he didn’t jump’.

Brendan Doherty was last seen alive in the waters below Channel Island Bridge. Picture: Che Chorley

A tradie who died after getting caught in strong tides near Darwin has been remembered as “a good man with a good heart” by an eyewitness to the events leading up to his tragic death.

Brendan Doherty, 55, was last seen alive in the waters below Channel Island Bridge on Friday night, where police say he jumped in to swim with mates.

One of those friends said the story put out by authorities was wrong, and Mr Doherty had accidentally fallen in after crossing over the bridge rail – likely to retrieve his glasses which were left sitting on the ledge.

“He didn’t jump or get pushed,” the witness said.

“That’s crazy, who goes swimming in croc infested waters at 9pm? Not us.”

Brendan Doherty, 55, went missing on Friday after jumping off the Channel Island Bridge with mates. Picture: Supplied

The witness, who was the one to call triple-0, said the group had arrived at the bridge about 15 minutes before Mr Doherty fell into the water.

“It was pitch black with only the lights of our vehicle and other vehicles on the scene who were fishing,” he said.

“It all happened so quick.”

He said Mr Doherty was not “laughing and active” in the water, as police suggested, but could only be seen for a couple of seconds before he disappeared into the dark.

“The tide was moving fast.”

Mr Doherty was working at the Darwin LNG plant as a fly-in fly-out mechanical fitter, believed to be from Victoria.

His friend described him as a “really good bloke”.

“Out of hundreds of workers here he was easily one the hardest workers with a calm happy persona,” the friend said.

Brendan Doherty, 55, was last seen alive in the waters below Channel Island Bridge near Darwin on May 30, 2025. Picture: Supplied.

According to Northern Territory police, Mr Doherty “voluntarily jumped” off the bridge – located half an hour from the Darwin CBD – while wearing steel cap boots, shorts and a dark shirt.

At 9.42pm emergency services received reports of a man “drifting away after several minutes of him laughing and active within the water after jumping off the bridge”.

Police said Mr Doherty was unable to swim back to shore, despite his friends’ attempts to encourage him.

An extensive search and rescue operation was launched on Friday night, and continued into the early hours of Saturday, but was unable to find Mr Doherty.

Search efforts began again early on Saturday morning, with two helicopters, two police boats, Surf Life Saving, NT Emergency Service volunteers, crocodile management and NT Police members on foot along coastlines nearby.

About 11.30am a body was seen in the water near the East Arm Wharf, more than 10km away from Channel Island Bridge.

NT Police attended and recovered the body, and Mr Doherty was declared dead.

In a statement NT Police thanked everyone who had assisted in the search.

Earlier: Man missing after jumping off Channel Island Bridge with mates on Friday night

May 31, 9am: A frantic search is underway for a 55-year-old man who went missing after jumping into the water near Channel Island.

Brendan Doherty voluntarily jumped off Channel Island Bridge with work friends on Friday night, and was laughing and active in the water before drifting away.

Police received a report at 9.42pm that Mr Doherty was unable to swim back to shore, despite his friends’ attempts to encourage him.

He was last seen in the middle of the channel, drifting toward Darwin City in strong tidal currents.

Witnesses observed him for close to two minutes before losing sight of him.

Mr Doherty was last seen wearing shorts, a dark shirt, and steel cap boots.

NT Police Search and Rescue deployed and did an extensive search of the Middle Arm area overnight.

Police are urging anyone who may witness a man floating or along the shore in the harbour to provide aid and call triple-0 immediately.

Originally published as Body of Brendan Doherty, 55, recovered from Darwin Harbour after overnight search