Antony Clements-Thrower News Reporter
14:55, 29 Sep 2024
Leeann Mitchell and childhood Cindy Waldron had taken a trip together when disaster struck(Image: Youtube/7News)
A woman taking a swim at a beach to celebrate her
beating cancer has told of the horror moment her best friend was dragged underwater and
eaten by a crocodile.
Breast cancer survivor Leeann Mitchell and childhood pal Cindy Waldron had taken a weekend away to
Queensland, Australia, to mark the occasion. During the trip they visited Thornton Beach and had waded into the waist-deep water when a deadly reptile attacked.
Quickly realising what had happened she lashed out and hit the monster on its head, but her friend had gone. Leeann swam back to shore screaming her name, to no avail.
READ MORE:
I got a sneak peek of Ninja's new coffee machine ‘that’s like having a cafe at home’
The crocodile was later found with Cindy's remains in its stomach(Image: Youtube/7News)
She told
7 News Spotlight Cindy’s last words were “It’s got me” She added: “We just wanted to run around, and that's exactly what we did, and in the process of doing that, we ended up on the waters' edge.
“It was really dark. Cindy's back was to the water and mine was to the beach and we were laughing and then Cindy cried out to me and she said: 'It's got me.'
"I thought that it was just that fright you get when you get in the water and something like seaweed brushes past you and so I put my arms out and she took my arms. "I said: 'I've got you babe...it's ok, I've got you.' She was holding me and I was holding her.
Leeann shared her friend's final words(Image: Youtube/7News)
“We were pulled...the force was incredible. And in that, I lost (grip) of one arm then we stopped and we'd travelled a big distance...I couldn't feel the ground any longer. I realised there was something and I put my hand out and I felt the top of its head. Then I started trying to punch and trying to fight and I was screaming.
"Then all of a sudden, we were taken again with the same amount of force. I held on as much as I could. I was clawing onto her arm and I was trying to get the other arm up to try and grab her. I couldn't, I couldn't. And then, she was gone.”
Leeann was taken to hospital where she was treated for shock, as well as puncture wounds to her arm. The crocodile, a four metre monster, was found days later and killed, still with Cindy’s remains inside.
