A grim search in northeastern South Africa has led to a startling discovery after authorities found human remains that may belong to a missing hotel owner inside a massive Nile crocodile.
According to The Telegraph, police shot the roughly 15-foot, 1,100-pound crocodile from a helicopter during an aerial search after spotting it with a visibly swollen belly.
Investigators later recovered human remains and a ring believed to have belonged to 59-year-old businessman Gabriel Batista, although DNA testing is still expected to provide final confirmation.
Batista, who owned the Border Country Inn and sports bar, was reported missing after his four-wheel-drive truck got stuck during an attempt to cross the Komati River.
He is believed to have been carried off by floodwaters before the crocodile encounter, though it is not known if he drowned prior to the attack, per The Telegraph.
Police used drones and helicopters for four days while searching the crocodile-filled river.
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Captain Johan "Pottie" Potgieter, the commander of a police dive unit, told News24 that "besides having a massively full tummy, he didn't move around or try to slip into the river despite the noise of the drones and the chopper."
After the crocodile was removed and taken to nearby Kruger National Park, a field necropsy found two severed arms, part of a rib cage, and pieces of flesh in the crocodile's stomach.
"I don't want to go into too much detail, but there was enough inside the stomach to lead us to believe the crocodile ate the missing man," Potgieter said, with DNA analysis pending.
Investigators also reportedly found six different types of shoes inside the animal.
Potgieter said that could point to previous attacks, though he cautioned against drawing quick conclusions, noting that crocodiles are known to "eat or swallow anything."
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The tragedy also underscores how dangerous encounters between people and wildlife can emerge where human movement overlaps with predator habitat, especially during severe weather conditions.
In this case, floodwaters appear to have played a central role, turning a routine trip to work into a deadly situation.
While Batista's family did not want to comment before the confirmation of the DNA results, a spokesperson spoke fondly of him.
"Gabriel was a lovely guy and a family man ... he spent a lot of time up here, and customers loved him," they said.
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