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Australian girl killed by crocodile

DARWIN, Australia (AP) -- DNA testing confirmed human remains found in an Australian swamp are those of an 11-year-old girl snatched by a crocodile, police said Wednesday.

DARWIN, Australia (AP) -- DNA testing confirmed human remains found in an Australian swamp are those of an 11-year-old girl snatched by a crocodile, police said Wednesday.

The remains of Briony Anne Goodsell were found Monday, one day after she vanished while swimming with her younger sister and two other children in a swamp on the outskirts of the northern city of Darwin.

DNA test results on Tuesday confirmed the remains -- found in water about 500 yards from where the girl disappeared -- were Briony's, Northern Territory police spokeswoman Sue Bradley said.

The children who had been swimming with Briony told police they saw the head and tail of a crocodile splash the surface of the water near where she had disappeared moments earlier.

Officials called off the search for the crocodile on Tuesday, saying they believed the creature had moved into surrounding crocodile-infested flood plains.

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The little girl's death was the second fatal crocodile attack in Australia in five weeks. On Feb. 8, a 5-year-old boy vanished from a river edge in northeastern Australia, and officials later confirmed an attack when his remains were found in the stomach of a 14-foot (4.3 meter) crocodile.

Last September, a 62-year-old man was killed by a crocodile in another northeastern river while checking crab pots.

Crocodiles have become plentiful in Australia's tropical north since they became protected by federal law in 1971.

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