It has been reported that human remains and flip-flops found in the stomach of a giant crocodile retrieved from the Komati River in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province during the search for missing businessman Gabriel Batista are being investigated for a possible connection to other missing persons cases.
During search and rescue operations for 59-year-old businessman Gabriel Batista, who went missing in the floods caused by heavy rains affecting South Africa’s northeast, a crocodile that was lying motionless and bloated in the area was neutralized. Inside the stomach of the 4.5-meter-long, approximately 500-kilogram crocodile—suspected of attacking and killing Batista, who went missing in the Komati River in Mpumalanga province—six pairs of flip-flops were found along with human remains.
Police announced that they are investigating whether the flip-flops, retrieved from the crocodile’s stomach along with human remains—the crocodile suspected of causing Batista’s death after he was found empty-handed on a low bridge submerged by floodwaters last week—are connected to previous missing persons cases.