In a shocking incident inspired by adventure tales like ‘Crocodile Dundee,’ 24-year-old American model Ginger Meadows from Snowmass Village, Colorado, met a tragic end during an Outback expedition. On March 29, 1987, she and companion Jane Burchett arrived at King’s Cascade waterfall in Australia’s Northern Territory aboard the luxury boat Lady G, captained by Bruce Fitzpatrick.

The Fatal Swim

The picturesque site hides deadly dangers, with saltwater crocodiles known to lurk in the waters. Despite clear warnings from the captain and crew about the predators, Meadows and Burchett entered the water for a swim. A massive four-meter crocodile soon approached the pair, who stood waist-deep against the rocky wall.

Eyewitness Horror

Burchett recounted the terrifying moments: “It swam right up to us and had its mouth open. Then I took my shoe off and threw it at it and hit it on the top of its head and it closed its mouth.” Believing she could escape, Meadows released Burchett’s arm, leaped from the ledge, and took two strokes before the crocodile seized her waist and dragged her under. “Then he pulled her up out of the water right in front of me—I looked her right in the face, she had her arms in the air and she was looking right at me. Then it pulled her back under,” Burchett described.

Grim Recovery

Rescuers located Meadows’ body the next day, coinciding with her 25th birthday. Chief Inspector Arnold Davies from the Port of Broome police station reported that as the 23-foot rescue boat traveled 15 kilometers upriver with her remains in a body bag at the front, a large crocodile lunged four feet out of the water, snapping at the bag’s end before vanishing.

Meadows’ estranged husband, Dwayne McCaulley, then 27, traveled to identify the remains.

Ignored Precautions

Captain Fitzpatrick later emphasized the precautions in a 2017 interview: “We were aware there were crocodiles in the area. And before we went, Ginger was told to not so much as dangle a foot in the water.”

Crocodile Attack Statistics

This remains one of Australia’s most notorious crocodile incidents. Recent research from Charles Darwin University indicates 76 attacks in the Northern Territory from 1979 to 2022, with 30% proving fatal.