Naked Fugitive Rescued Near Darwin Claimed He Just Got Lost On The Way To Tones And I Gig
Johnny run away, run away, now, into the mangroves.
A fugitive who was found naked hiding out in mangroves near Darwin told his rescuers he simply got lost on the way to a Tones And I gig.
As reported by Channel 9, Luke Voskerensky was rescued by two local fisherman Cam Faust and Kevin Joiner in early January — he had apparently spent four days hiding from police in the thick mangroves on the outskirts on the city, “surviving on snails” and being eaten by mosquitoes.
“It didn’t make sense to us,” Faust said at the time, as per Perth Now, regarding Voskerensky’s lack of clothing. “He had a nest made up in the tree, and he was only laying a metre above the water and there were crocs in the water so he has done well to survive.”
Voskerensky told the pair he had just gotten lost on the way to Tones And I’s gig at the Darwin Waterfront on New Year’s Eve. Unfortunately, that was lie: Voskerensky was a fugitive, who had pleaded guilty for assaulting his girlfriend and had removed his electronic monitoring device. He booked a flight from Darwin to Cairns under a pseudonym, aiming to escape, but was waylaid by the mangroves.
“Once we’d seen how bad he was and how many cuts he had all over him and he was dehydrated and pretty weak…we thought we’d better get him in the boat,“ Joiner said. “We thought he just must have had a big night after New Year’s and got lost and done himself a mischief in the bush.”
“I was going to go visit him in hospital and my partner’s a paramedic saying he’s in hospital with handcuffs on — two cops babysitting him. So we were like, oh maybe we’ll leave it,” Cam Faust said after the rescue.
In perhaps the most classic Australian summation of the events, Joiner added: “I don’t think we’ll ever catch nothing like that again”.
Voskerensky’s lawyer reportedly argued for a suspended sentence, saying that he’d already endured an “uncomfortable” stay in the mangroves, while Voskerensky told the court the whole ordeal had taught him that “he’s got to do what he’s told”. He’s due to be sentenced on Friday.
Photo Credit: Tones And I, Supplied / 7News