Crocodile attack: Victim Cindy Waldron’s last words were ‘A crocodile’s got me’

A WOMAN relived the horror of trying to save her best friend Cindy Waldron from the jaws of a monster crocodile in what is now assumed to be a fatal attack.

A WOMAN yesterday relived the horror of trying to save her best friend, Lithgow-based photographer Cindy Waldron, 46, from the vice-like jaws of a monster crocodile in what is now assumed to be a fatal attack.

A terrified Ms Waldron reportedly yelled “a croc’s got me” as her friend Leeann Mitchell bravely tried to drag her to the banks of a remote beach as the crocodile pulled her underwater as they swam at Thornton Beach in far north Queensland’s Daintree National Park late on Sunday night.

Police praised the Cairns woman as she risked her life to save her long-time friend after they ventured into waist-deep water about 10.30pm.

Cindy Waldron, 46, who is believed to have been taken by a crocodile at Thornton Beach.

“Her friend tried to grab her and drag her to safety and she just wasn’t able to do that,” Senior Constable Russell Parker said.

“They had been walking along the beach and they’ve decided to go for a swim ... (it was) probably a very nice, clear night, but obviously (they) may not have been aware of the ­dangers.”

Ms Mitchell’s friend managed to get back to shore and made a frantic dash to a local business to get help. She has been treated in hospital for shock and grazes.

An air, sea and land search has failed to find any trace of the victim, who was from Oakey Park, just outside Lithgow, in NSW.

Queensland Ambulance Service senior operations supervisor Neil Noble said it was believed the women had felt the croc bump into them before Ms Waldron was taken. “They felt a nudge and (Ms Waldron) started to scream,” he said.

Ms Waldron’s neighbour Duane Brown said she had moved to the suburb in the last few months from the Blue Mountains town of Leura.

“She was the most pleasant woman ever, she moved here from Leura,” he said.

The suspected croc attack took place at Thornton Beach / Supplied

“She was a brilliant person, really nice, but she kept to herself.”

Local long-time federal MP Warren Entsch said it defied belief that anyone would go for a late-night swim in such severe croc country, particularly given that the entire Daintree area is peppered with signs warning visitors of the dangers.

The member for Leichhardt said he hoped the tragedy would not spark a hysterical debate about crocodile management in his ­electorate.

“You can’t legislate against human stupidity,” he said.

“This is a tragedy but it was avoidable. If you go in swimming at 10 o’clock at night, you’re going to get consumed.”

He went so far as to describe it as an act of “human stupidity” and says he hopes it doesn’t spark a “hysterical debate about crocodile management” — a reference to likely calls for a cull.

Police and SES volunteers conducted a large-scale land, air and sea search on Monday, but failed to find any trace of New Zealand-born Ms Waldron who had been living in Lithgow for several years.

The case has echoes of a fatal croc attack near the Daintree River just before Christmas in 1985 when Beryl Wruck, 43, was taken by a five-metre croc after a fateful decision to take a late-night dip in the shallows of Barratt Creek after an evening of drinking with friends.

In 2009 a five-year-old was taken by a 4.3-metre beast while in a swamp behind his Daintree River home.

Police and SES volunteers conducted a large-scale land, air and sea search on Monday, but failed to find any trace of New Zealand-born Ms Waldron.

Thorntons Beach / Supplied

Originally published as Crocodile attack: Victim Cindy Waldron’s last words were ‘A crocodile’s got me’