Missing Australian tourist not spotted on rainforest CCTV – ZimParks
Parks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo says 67-year-old visitor last heard from on 17 February
By Staff Reporter
A 67-year-old Australian tourist reported missing in Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls National Park has not been spotted by authorities in replayed CCTV footage of visitors who entered the famous park in the period of his disappearance, raising fears he could have disappeared without visiting the resort area.
This was revealed on Monday by Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesman Tinashe Farawo as the search continues for the Aussie.
The male tourist, who was traveling alone, was staying at a luxury lodge about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the rainforest park, Farawo said.
He had last been heard from on February 17 when he told the lodge management on that he was heading into the park.
However, the man was not seen entering the park on CCTV footage reviewed later, nor was he among those recorded as entering the park, as normally is done for accountability and security purposes.
“We have replayed the CCTV footage, physical records at the entrance of the falls have no record of him entering and our search team has been checking the rainforest. There is no sign of him, Farawo said.
“We are looking at other leads because it seems he never entered the rainforest,” he said.
Farawo did not disclose any other details, saying investigations are still underway.
Such incidences are rare in Victoria Falls, a destination that attracts thousands of tourists from across the globe for its majestic water curtain that tumbles down more than 350 feet (108 meters) from the mighty Zambezi River to a gorge below, sending up a mist visible from miles away.
The parks agency deployed a team that included the police and rangers with sniffer dogs, professional ground trackers and drones to track the Australian tourist Friday, said Farawo.
A few cases have been recorded in other parks. A German tourist reported missing last October in Matusadona National Park, which teems with wild animals in northern Zimbabwe, was found alive and in good health three days later.
