Coroner Christine Roney said, in her findings published on July 30, that former 2GB Outdoor and Fishing Show presenter Roman ‘Butch’ Butchaski (pictured) had most likely been taken and killed by a crocodile after he went missing during a fishing trip in the Olive River region of Queensland on November 12, 2023.
“The fact that no sign of the missing person was located during the extensive and thorough search leads me to suspect the MP has entered the water and has been consumed by a crocodile.
It is highly probable given the fact that there are large crocodiles which inhabit that section of water.
It is also highly probable given the type of fishing the missing person was doing which involved him getting close to the water’s edge and traversing snags in the form of fallen trees and steep banks and flicking small lures as close to these snags as possible.”
This morning 2GB breakfast presenter Ben Fordham spoke with Butch’s co-host for many years Michael Guest to pay tribute (above) with Guest saying:
“It’s not until it sort of touches you directly that you actually sort of feel this really strange sort of empty feeling where there’s no closure. So it’s nice to get some closure through the words of the coroner.
I agree totally with what she said and it’s what I thought happened in the first place, early days.”
Ben added:
“To Butch’s family who are listening, we’re thinking of you guys, and we only hope that you feel the same way that we do that, even though it’s not what we want to hear.”