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British tourist missing after ‘hiking to a lake filled with crocodiles’

Elaine McSorley, 71 disappeared while exploring nature reserves known to be home to dangerous crocodiles in South Africa (Picture: Jamie Pyatt)

A British woman has been missing for more than a week after taking a hike to a lake filled with crocodiles while searching for wildlife.

Elaine McSorley, 71, and her husband Leon, 81, left their hotel to take a short walk at Mkhuze in South Africa’s KwaZulu Province.

Leon decided to return to their accommodation after finding the intense heat too much, but Elaine continued to explore the area.

Three hours later the alarm was raised when she never returned, and a search has been underway for her since September 27.

Signs at the Ghost Mountain Inn where the couple were staying warned visitors of crocodiles.

Elaine was reported by the hotel to have asked for directions from a local farmer.

A British tourist has been missing for a week in South Africa after hiking to a lake filled with man-eating crocodiles to photograph its resident hippo. Elaine McSorley, 71, and husband Leon, 81, had left their hotel for a short walk last Friday at Mkhuze in KwaZulu Province to search for local wildlife. But Leon said he found the heat and distance too much and returned to their ?100-a-night hotel room to leave wife Elaine to continue on her own. When Elaine failed to return over three hours later he raised the alarm and search parties have been scouring the lake and banks since September 27. There are signs around the lake at the Ghost Mountain Inn where the UK couple were booked in warning tourists of the man-eating crocodiles. But police say they are being hampered in building up a profile of Elaine with regards to her hiking fitness and medical health as her husband has left. And the police chief in charge admitted he does not currently know where the husband is. However the Ghost Mountain Inn confirmed that husband Leon returned to the hotel at 2.40pm and that there was a confirmed sighting of her at 3pm The hotel said she asked a farmer for directions to a different area of the lake but when she had not returned by 5.30pm Leon reported her missing. The area where Elaine vanished is almost crime free with safe game reserves and police say if she died of natural causes she would have been found. They suspect a crocodile took her or foul play but have no evidence of either. K9 units and the police helicopter and a small army of locals have found no trace of her despite the use of sniffer dogs, drones, helicopters and boats. Hotel staff say if she had been attacked by a crocodile that could explain her disappearance but are confused as to why her husband has checked out. As a pensioner she would have had no chance against a crocodile which kills 1000 people a year in Africa and can run at 25mph and grows to 20ft long. They can weigh1650lbs and have the strongest bite of any animal in the world Lieutenant Colonel Paul Magwaza of the SA police said: ?The British couple checked into the Ghost Mountain Inn at 1pm and went for a walk at 2pm. ?According to the husband during the walk to the lake he decided to turn back and returned to the hotel but when she did not return he raised the alarm. ?We have been searching day and night but there is no sign of her. It is like she has vanished into thin air. The dogs have picked up no traces either. ?If she had simply collapsed and died we would have found her by now. There are theories as to what happened but I am not going to speculate? he said. The police chief confirmed the husband had left as the search continued. The couple were on holiday and booked in to the hotel on the day Elaine went missing and police are not revealing where in the UK they couple are from. A member of the local Community Police Forum said: ?It is a mystery as it is a very safe area for tourists and there is no sign of a crime having happened. ?The husband said she was going to the lake as there is a hippo there that likes to come out of the reeds to try and get a photo but he returned to the room. ?There are hotel signs warning of crocodiles which are in the lake and we are starting to have to look at whether she was ambushed and devoured? he said. The Ghost Mountain Inn is surrounded by game reserves and tourists flock to the area for the wildlife including lions, elephants, buffalo rhino and leopard.
Elaine and her husband Leon were both staying at the Ghost Mountain Inn in KwaZulu province (Picture: Jamie Pyatt)

The area where she disappeared is thought to be low on crime and police believe Elaine would have already been found had she died from natural causes.

A search involving locals, a police helicopter and K9 units has so far found no trace of her.

Crocodiles are linked with hundreds of deaths each year across Africa.

They boast the strongest bite in the world and can weigh up to 1,650lbs and measure up to 20ft long.

Investigators are also mystified as to why her husband checked out of the hotel so soon after his wife went missing and while the police search was ongoing.

Lieutenant Colonel Paul Magwaza of the SA police said: ‘The British couple checked into the Ghost Mountain Inn at 1pm and went for a walk at 2pm.

A British tourist has been missing for a week in South Africa after hiking to a lake filled with man-eating crocodiles to photograph its resident hippo. Elaine McSorley, 71, and husband Leon, 81, had left their hotel for a short walk last Friday at Mkhuze in KwaZulu Province to search for local wildlife. But Leon said he found the heat and distance too much and returned to their ?100-a-night hotel room to leave wife Elaine to continue on her own. When Elaine failed to return over three hours later he raised the alarm and search parties have been scouring the lake and banks since September 27. There are signs around the lake at the Ghost Mountain Inn where the UK couple were booked in warning tourists of the man-eating crocodiles. But police say they are being hampered in building up a profile of Elaine with regards to her hiking fitness and medical health as her husband has left. And the police chief in charge admitted he does not currently know where the husband is. However the Ghost Mountain Inn confirmed that husband Leon returned to the hotel at 2.40pm and that there was a confirmed sighting of her at 3pm The hotel said she asked a farmer for directions to a different area of the lake but when she had not returned by 5.30pm Leon reported her missing. The area where Elaine vanished is almost crime free with safe game reserves and police say if she died of natural causes she would have been found. They suspect a crocodile took her or foul play but have no evidence of either. K9 units and the police helicopter and a small army of locals have found no trace of her despite the use of sniffer dogs, drones, helicopters and boats. Hotel staff say if she had been attacked by a crocodile that could explain her disappearance but are confused as to why her husband has checked out. As a pensioner she would have had no chance against a crocodile which kills 1000 people a year in Africa and can run at 25mph and grows to 20ft long. They can weigh1650lbs and have the strongest bite of any animal in the world Lieutenant Colonel Paul Magwaza of the SA police said: ?The British couple checked into the Ghost Mountain Inn at 1pm and went for a walk at 2pm. ?According to the husband during the walk to the lake he decided to turn back and returned to the hotel but when she did not return he raised the alarm. ?We have been searching day and night but there is no sign of her. It is like she has vanished into thin air. The dogs have picked up no traces either. ?If she had simply collapsed and died we would have found her by now. There are theories as to what happened but I am not going to speculate? he said. The police chief confirmed the husband had left as the search continued. The couple were on holiday and booked in to the hotel on the day Elaine went missing and police are not revealing where in the UK they couple are from. A member of the local Community Police Forum said: ?It is a mystery as it is a very safe area for tourists and there is no sign of a crime having happened. ?The husband said she was going to the lake as there is a hippo there that likes to come out of the reeds to try and get a photo but he returned to the room. ?There are hotel signs warning of crocodiles which are in the lake and we are starting to have to look at whether she was ambushed and devoured? he said. The Ghost Mountain Inn is surrounded by game reserves and tourists flock to the area for the wildlife including lions, elephants, buffalo rhino and leopard.
Elaine was thought to be walking to a lake in order to photo a particular hippo (Picture: Facebook)

‘According to the husband during the walk to the lake he decided to turn back and returned to the hotel but when she did not return he raised the alarm.

‘We have been searching day and night but there is no sign of her. It is like she has vanished into thin air. The dogs have picked up no traces either.

‘If she had simply collapsed and died we would have found her by now. There are theories as to what happened but I am not going to speculate.’

Ghost Mountain Inn is surrounded by reserves, with species including lions, elephants, buffalos, rhinos and leopards.

One member of a local community police forum reported that Leon suggested his wife had gone to the lake in order to photograph a particular hippo.

‘It is a mystery as it is a very safe area for tourists and there is no sign of a crime having happened’, they said.

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