GamblerGORD53

Anybody recognize this Momentum R120 bike? It was found 4 miles off road on Sept. 17. Abandoned at least 2 weeks.
Police story .... Appeal for information - Bicycle and camping gear found abandoned - Darwin River | NTPFES
Could be a darned crocodile got him. I found this on CGOAB, Oct. 4.

JoeTBM 

I'm just a little confused... aren't you in Canada and this happened in Australia?

CliffordK

Very odd.

I assume that is some kind of a smart tracking system. I would think it could be used to backtrack the person's route, and perhaps find the person's online ID, although I generally run STRAVA on my phone, so I'm not that familiar with Garmin or other upload devices.

Any idea what those steel pipes are used for?

DNA on a toothbrush might determine male or female, and thus help one determine if fowl play was suspected.

rifraf

Kudos to OP for spotting it as i'm in Australia (not the Northern Territory where Darwin is) and hadn't heard of the missing cyclist.

If your unfamiliar with CGOAB, I believe it refers to the Crazy Guy On A Bike site: https://www.crazyguyonabike.com

Well worth a visit.

Bonzo Banana

So many ways Australian wildlife can get you. Spiders and snakes come to mind. Some are downright aggressive. I couldn't do a trip like that myself unless I had company.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@-12.7...7i13312!8i6656

There is a small water feature here.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@-12.7...7i13312!8i6656

jitenshajin

This has got me thinking about this poor bloke in the link below:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...ntral-45663082

Police have issued a fresh appeal for information over the mysterious disappearance of a cyclist in the Highlands exactly a year ago.

Tony Parsons, 64, from Tillicoultry, was a "good decent man", according to former naval colleague John Pritchard, who is joining the appeal to find him.

Tony was last seen at about 23:30 on 29 September 2017 at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel.

He then headed south on the A82 towards Tyndrum on his charity ride from Fort William to his Clackmannanshire home.

JoeTBM 

CliffordK

There aren't a lot of animals that would take a person without leaving a trace. Small snakes, spiders, etc... could be lethal, but couldn't eat a whole human. The Anaconda is from South America, and not in Australia. Other big snakes?

The crocodile suggestion above is a possibility

Australia either doesn't have large cats, or has very few of them.

I presume dingos would leave a bit of a mess.

A person might be off for a day hike that went bad. Or, perhaps was sent off to a hospital for snake bite treatment and died.

Or, of course, foul play.

That looks like pretty muddy water, but perhaps it could be rendered drinkable with a good filter. So, one might head down to the water. The article mentions two water bottles, but doesn't mention if they are bicycle type bottles to fit in the cages.

saddlesores

could be the rider left the bike and gear at what he considered a safe location a trailhead, and decided to go walkabout.


i'd guess the two pipes on the rack were to support a full backpack instead of saddlebags. left the tent behind cause had a lighter bivy to carry. left the larger 3/4 full water jugs behind, took the 3 bike bottles, probably has a filter.

jitenshajin

There is always hope.

Remember the story of Alaskan fireman Robert Bogucki.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x246cmg

Alaskan fireman Robert Bogucki went missing in Western Australia’s Great Sandy Desert in July, 1999. Bogucki survived 43 days and was eventually found some 400km from his departure point by an Australian television news helicopter. He’d lost 30 kilograms, endured six weeks without food and 12 days without water but miraculously survived one of the world’s most inhospitable wildernesses.

Bogucki is not a typical adventurer. He is not interested in being the first or the fastest. Nor is he interested in fame or notoriety. He decided to cross the Australian Great Sandy Desert in an attempt to find solitude in one of the world’s last untamed wildernesses.

Bogucki was a troubled 15-year-old when he decided that one day he would, like Jesus, fast in the wilderness, test his faith and have some questions answered. As the years passed, this quest became more of a focus – almost an obsession. His moment arrived in 1999. While on a cycling trip around Australia, he saw a map of country’s vast interior, and the Great Sandy Desert caught his eye.

When tourists happened upon Bogucki’s abandoned bicycle and supplies on a remote desert track, one of the largest manhunts in Australian history was launched. Australian police and local Aboriginal trackers struggled to follow Bogucki’s tracks through almost impenetrable bush.

After 15 days, the search was called off. Refusing to believe their son had perished in the desert, Bogucki’s parents hired a volunteer American search and rescue team to travel to Broome, in what many believed would be a body retrieval exercise...

CliffordK

I'd interpret the blue coil as a bike lock.

I suppose I might leave a bike at a campsite while I was out fishing or something. But, it would be locked for anything longer.

It would be interesting to see if the gear with the bike matches everything that would be expected for a trip/tour. There was mention of water, but not food. We don't see the rear bags.

Bonzo Banana

I was thinking the body could still actually be there and undiscovered rather than fully eaten. Definitely a believer in safety in numbers, makes you less vulnerable to criminals and you have people who can assist you if bitten etc. I understand for some the appeal of such rides is riding alone though.

indyfabz

Mutant, killer ostrich?

saddlesores

try cassowary...world's most dangerous former dinosaur!


"...these shy birds can slice you into two pieces with a single fatal kick..."
Cassowary - The Most Dangerous Bird on Earth

Paul Barnard

I doubt it was a Crocodile. While this took place within the range of the freshwater crocodile, large ones are normally found on much larger water bodies or water bodies well connected to a large one. Further, freshwater crocodiles don't get nearly as large as saltwater crocodiles and aren't nearly as aggressive. The area where his bike was found was not a vast wilderness area either. No more than a mile in any direction you hit farmland or houses. I doubt the rider wandered off, got lost and got in trouble. It's hard to tell, but I'd peg that frame in the 55 range. Probably not a female.

Steve B.

My thoughts as well as we play amatuer detectives. The stream nearby has water in it, but croc's ?. Only the locals would know if that stream has crocodiles in it. As well there's maybe some items missing that make me wonder, like where are the 3 water bottles that go in the cages and did the cyclist take them with him on a hike ?. The police page indicates 2 large water bottles, not sure what type.

A mystery for sure but I'd bet human meeting human and something gone wrong.

Andrew R Stewart 

Some animals will cover or drag their left overs to hide them from other animals. better to return to the left overs and have a second meal.

I also wouldn't assume that DNA testing for gender means anything. In our current PC climate saying a male prevents you from evil doers is akin to sexism. Andy

CliffordK

The toothbrush DNA should be able to confirm Male/Female, although, yes, it is a pretty large frame and high seat.

If a person got bitten by a snake, then one might head out cross-country towards the nearest farmhouse, although, I'd probably take my bike and stick to the roads and trails.

Or, of course, flag down the first passing vehicle which could whisk a person off to a nearby hospital.

So, I'd check hospitals and morgues first.

I'm not a botanist, but that does appear to be within both the saltwater and freshwater croc ranges, not far from a tidal estuary. The crocs are supposed to be both predators and scavengers, so they could take the corpse of a snakebite victim if near the water.

It appears to me that the area is wide open enough that one should be able to search any area within a couple of miles of the bicycle pretty quickly, other than the area directly along the river which would take more hunting.

CliffordK

True... but, sex is still a risk factor, and might play a role in determining where to look if foul play is suspected.

Even if it didn't give a definitive ID, DNA could also help narrow the pool of potential victims.

I think I'd still see what could be gleaned from any recovered electronics.

jitenshajin

Funny how you mentioned dinosaurs.

In a second photo, the bike clearly has a small green plastic dinosaur mounted on the handlebars.



On enlarging the photo taken inside, it can be seen that the blue coil is indeed a lock. There is also what looks to be a computer.

They will probably be able to get a DNA sample from the front bag. Several types of biological evidence are commonly used in forensic science for the purpose of DNA analysis, including blood, saliva, semen, skin, urine and hair, though some are more useful than others.

It only takes microscopic sample to get a full profile. As little as a few nanograms. Every person has a different sequence of DNA, even identical twins as they age. If the person is on a DNA database, then their identity can be determined. Failing that, DNA can predict gender, race, region of origin, hair and eye color, and assorted physical features from just a tiny sample.

Paul Barnard

That dinosaur is interesting. When I was hiking in the wilds of Colorado this year, I saw an older man with a dinosaur just like that attached to his back pack. I chuckled to myself and continued on. Some 20 minutes later a young couple came hiking very purposefully in the direction the older man with the dinosaur were headed. They asked me if I had found or seen a green dinosaur. They had lost it, and it was meaningful to them. I told them what the man looked like and that they wouldn't be able to miss it. They moved out with a purpose.

Paul Barnard

A not so serious look at potentially deadly critters in the Norther Territories.

https://rooftopantics.com/deadly-ani...ory-australia/

indyfabz

When I crossed the country with a dozen other people, someone found a toy dinosaur along the side of a road. Some child likely tossed it out of a car window. (Saw a lot of kids' toys that summer.) Whoever rode with it for the day would stick on someone else's bike that evening. That person had to carry it the next day. One day it fell off and was lost (to us) forever.

Caretaker

The link says "up to two weeks", there's a difference.

indyfabz

Or abdicted my alleins.