‘Drunken fool’ cops a blast after river search

By BRAD WORRALL

POLICE say a man who sparked a full-scale search of the Murray River on Saturday night was a fool and could have just as easily turned up dead.

The Albury man was found on the river bank early yesterday morning after sleeping off the effects of too much to drink.

He told police he had not heard the army of emergency personnel trolling the river throughout the night.

Police Sgt Julian Reid said the 21-year-old had wasted precious resources and could have ended up in a body bag.

The man had been floating down the river, while drinking, with friends on Saturday afternoon.

“But when they reached Doctors Point his friends put him on the bank because he was too affected by alcohol to continue,” Sgt Reid said.

“They told him to stay put but when they returned in a car he had disappeared.

“They searched for about two hours until it went dark and then, fearing the worst, called police.”

SES and Volunteer Rescue Association crews spent the night combing the river banks on foot and traversing the river in two boats.

The man was found on the opposite side of the Murray River about 5am.

Sgt Reid said the man, while heavily intoxicated, had swum across the river and then curled up and gone to sleep.

“This has ended up being a significant search through someone’s own foolishness,” he said.

“The man claimed he did not hear the crews calling his name as they went up and down the river through the night.

“His actions have tied up valuable resources, resources that we are lucky to be able to call on for real emergencies.

“But here they have been wasted searching for someone because of his own stupidity and drunkenness.

“To tie them up on this for an entire night is a disgrace.”

Sgt Reid said the only positive was that the man was found alive.

“He could have just as easily died swimming across the river,” he said.

“This could have turned out to be a body retrieval and I think we are all thankful that didn’t happen.”