An Australian tourist was reported missing near Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, and new information revealed that he had been missing for nearly a week before the official report was made. The 67-year-old man, who remains unnamed, was reported missing on Friday in the vicinity of Zimbabwe Victoria Falls National Park. Officials initiated a search with sniffer dogs at that time. The Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson, Tinashe Farawo, disclosed on Monday that the missing tourist was a male who was last heard from on February 17.
The tourist, who was traveling alone, was staying at a luxury lodge approximately 1.8 miles from the rainforest park. He informed the lodge management on February 17 that he was going into the park, according to Mr. Farawo. However, CCTV footage did not capture him entering the park, and there was no record of him entering the park as is normally required for accountability and security reasons. Despite searches in the rainforest, there was no trace of the missing tourist.
Mr. Farawo mentioned that other leads are being investigated since it appears the man never entered the rainforest. No additional details were provided as the investigations are ongoing. Such occurrences are rare in Victoria Falls, a popular destination known for its spectacular waterfall. The parks agency, along with the police, rangers, sniffer dogs, ground trackers, and drones, were deployed to locate the Australian tourist. While rare, similar incidents have been recorded in other parks, such as the case of a German tourist who went missing in Matusadona National Park and was found unharmed after three days.