Police searching for answers after tourist vanishes in two-hour window

Divers called in as police appeal for help to find missing man at Edith Falls Northern Territory Police are appealing for help in the search for a 61-year-old tourist who went missing from Edith Falls outside Katherine on Sunday. In a statement, an NT Police spokesperson said Dominic O’Connell was last seen near the lower plunge pool at the popular water hole in Nitmiluk National Park, about 300 kilometres south of Darwin, between 1pm and 3pm. They said Mr O'Connell was visiting the area with his wife and is described as Caucasian, about six feet tall and of slim build with shoulder length brown and white hair and a short beard. He was last seen wearing prescription glasses with dark blue frames, white shorts with a black and blue pattern and no shirt, and he also has distinctive tattoos on both shoulders. The spokesperson said police divers would start searching the water this morning. "Police and Parks and Wildlife NT rangers have conducted an extensive search of the area using a range of resources but have so far been unable to locate Dominic," they said. "While Edith Falls remains open today, the lower plunge pool is closed to the public and is only accessible to members involved in the search. "Police understand there were a number of people in and around the Edith Falls plunge pool at the time Dominic was last seen and are particularly keen to speak with anyone who was in the area between 1pm and 3pm on Sunday." Police search and rescue crews have been deployed to the area several times in recent years. In July last year, a 57-year-old tourist went missing, his body later found in the lower pool of Edith Falls, and in 2018 a search was unable to locate 67-year-old Queensland man Alex Rosenberg who disappeared from the area.