Tourist's gruesome death killed by 15ft crocodile after being told swim was 'safe'

When she embarked on a trip with her sister to mark her recent graduation, Isabel von Jordan never anticipated meeting a tragic end.

The 23-year-old German national had just completed her degree in interior design from the Technical University of Munich and brought along her younger sister, Valerie, 21, to discover Australia in October 2002.

Their journey featured an excursion through Kakadu National Park, where the sisters joined a group of fellow international travelers, all led by Glenn Robless – an experienced tour operator from Darwin with extensive industry knowledge.

On the tour’s final evening, the party of seven established camp beside a waterhole called Sandy Billabong.

Despite warning signs displayed in several languages throughout the location, Robless informed the group the adjacent waters were safe for swimming, reports the Daily Star.

Saltwater crocodiles are prevalent across the park, but the guide had swept the water’s surface with a flashlight, seen nothing concerning, and reportedly noticed a collection of mussel shells along the shore – potentially suggesting Aboriginal people had been in the water earlier that day.

At least one group member is reported to have questioned him repeatedly about the guidance but received assurances it was safe.

The party spent several moments enjoying the water before Robless departed to communicate with another guide in the park, according to inquest records. While swimming together, the group were oblivious to a crocodile that had entered the water with them.

They only realized something was wrong after noticing Isabel had disappeared below the surface. In a state of alarm, they rushed back to shore and desperately searched the waters from above, but found nothing.

One surviving tourist later revealed she had felt something brush against her leg earlier, initially thinking it was someone playing around.

The group alerted authorities, and park rangers traveled the Creek by boat, eventually finding and harpooning the 14-feet-long, 800lb crocodile suspected of attacking Isabel.

Following overnight searches by emergency personnel, Isabel’s body was discovered the following morning in a tributary of the South Alligator River, approximately 1.2 miles from where she’d disappeared.

The woman had been pulled underwater and, contrary to initial assumptions, hadn’t died from the crocodile’s bite but rather from drowning.

During the inquest, one park ranger involved in the search suggested a theory that the animal may have been attracted to her size, though he emphasized this was conjecture rather than proven fact, as crocodile behavior, especially what prompts an attack, remains difficult to predict.