Police in Australia searching for a missing British tourist have said that they have evidence he was shot. Twenty-eight-year-old Peter Falconio has been missing since Saturday when he and girlfriend Joanne Lees, 27, were flagged down and allegedly held up by a gunman near the tiny outpost of Barrow Creek in the Northern Territory. Reports say that police have found blood at the scene, which indicates Mr Falconio was shot and then removed from the area. Forensic tests have confirmed that the blood was that of Mr Falconio.
Ms Lees is believed to have been bound and gagged after Mr Falconio was shot. She later escaped and hid for four hours, evading the gunman, before stopping a passing motorist who helped her escape. Police have set up road blocks closing the highway stretch between Alice Springs and Tennant Creek for fear that the gunman may target more victims.
The search for Mr Falconio has been stepped up in light of the evidence found at the scene, but police said that there had been no trace either of Mr Falconio or the gunman. "I'd hate to use the expression, 'a needle in a hay stack', but that's what we're dealing with at this stage," police commander Bob Fields told Australian radio. "Obviously we don't want to speculate but I'd have to say...we absolutely fear the worst here," Mr Fields said.
