Two fishermen have rescued a naked fugitive they found sitting on a tree branch in an Australian crocodile habitat. Cam Faust said Wednesday that he and his recreational fisherman Kev Joiner heard 40-year-old Luke Voskresensky on Sunday calling for help as they set crab traps from his mangrove boat on the outskirts of the northern city of Darwin.
Faust said Voskresensky – who was covered in mud, cuts and insect bites – had explained that he had been lost for four days, that he had survived by eating snails and that he had used his clothes “in pieces along the way”.
“It made no sense to us,” Faust said, referring to the explanation of his nudity. “It had a compound nest in the tree and it only put a meter (39 inches) above the water and there were hooks in the water, so it has done well to survive.”
Joiner said friends hesitated before bringing Voskresensky on board.
“Once we had seen how bad he was and how many cuts he had above him, he was dehydrated and quite weak … we thought it would be best if we took him on the boat,” Joiner said.
“We thought it was only going to be a big night after New Year’s Eve and it got lost and hurt in the jungle,” he added.
Faust said he stripped off his underwear and handed Voskresensky shorts and a beer while the trio returned to Darwin.
“He seemed to need a beer, even though he was in a bad way,” Faust said.
An ambulance was waiting at a Darwin boat ramp when they arrived. Voskresensky was taken to a hospital in Darwin, where he was placed under police custody while being treated for exposure.
Police said Voskresensky had been released on bail after being charged with armed robbery, multiple aggravated assaults, deprivation of liberty and robbery. But last week he had cut off the electronic control device and tried to evade police.
Because he was hospitalized, Voskresensky was excused from attending court on Tuesday to face new charges for breach of bail and aggravated assault, judicial official Xavier La Canna said.
Voskresensky will appear in court on Feb. 9, La Canna said.
Faust said he decided not to visit Voskresensky at the hospital after discovering he had been wanted by police.