Family told human remains could be missing daughter
Written by admin on October 23, 2024
The family of a 14-year-old girl who went missing in flood waters almost three years ago has been told by police they may have found her remains.
On Sunday, members of the public found human bones at Booubyian near Gympie about 2km from where Krystal Cain was last seen almost three years ago.
Krystal was swept out of her father’s arms in January 2022 when they were unexpectedly hit by raging flood waters, the Gympie Times and Courier-Mail reported.
The teenager had been travelling with her father Lenny Cain from Echuca in Victoria to visit family in Queensland when the tragedy unfolded.
The pair were driving across a bridge in the middle of the night when it became stuck in a pothole, and they were hit by “raging rivers” within minutes after ex-cyclone Seth dumped 650mm of rain in the region.
Mr Cain tied an extension cord between them and they leaned against the driver’s side door for safety from the rushing water, but the car was suddenly swept off the road taking the pair with it.
Mr Cain and his daughter were dragged metres down the raging waters and were able to cling to tree branches, but the branches would snap and they were repeatedly hurled back into the dangerous torrent.
At one point, Mr Cain was pinned underwater and when he resurfaced Krystal had disappeared.
He was swept hundreds of metres downstream before he slammed into another tree and was spotted by farmers who called rescue crews.
“I was devastated because I couldn’t see Krystal and the water was just so violent, and I just feared the worst straight away,” Mr Cain said.
“There is just no way possible anyone could have survived that torrent.”
Authorities searched for weeks to find Krystal after she went missing in the floodwaters, but she was never found.
Mr Cain told the Gympie Times he received a phone call from police telling him about the find.
He hoped the discovery meant he could bring his daughter home if the remains are hers.
Forensics officers searched the area where the remains were found, and further examinations were being conducted to identify the human remain.
