Police hunting missing tourist say attacker had gun
Police hunting for a missing British tourist revealed today that the man suspected of abducting and possibly murdering him was carrying a revolver.
The announcement comes nearly three weeks after Mr Falconio, from Hepworth, near Huddersfield, and his girlfriend Joanne Lees, 27, of Almondbury, both West Yorkshire, were attacked by a mystery gunman on a remote highway in central Australia.
Lees, 27, told police she had briefly seen a revolver, Northern Territory Police Assistant Commissioner John Daulby said.
‘‘There is no confirmation or identification of the firearm used by the offender, but from the description given to us, it appears to be a revolver,’’ Daulby said.
‘‘That’s about all we can say given the traumatic situation Joanne was in when she got a fleeting glimpse of it.’’
Miss Lees told police the man flagged the British couple down on the evening of July 14, lured Falconio, 28, out of the car and may have shot him. Neither man has been seen since.
The armed man then bound and gagged Miss Lees and tossed her in his car. She managed to escape and raise the alarm.
Police also revealed this week they had discovered unknown DNA samples on Miss Lees’s clothing and were searching Australian and international databases for a match.
Despite one of the biggest manhunts ever launched in Outback Australia, involving police in planes and helicopters, roadblocks throughout the region and even Aboriginal trackers, no trace has been found of Falconio.
