60 Minutes: Parents describe horrific Fraser Island dingo attack on their toddler
The parents of a 14-month-old boy attacked by a dingo on Fraser Island are set to break their silence in an exclusive 60 Minutes interview, just six weeks after their horrific ordeal.
Luke and Sarah Allister – who have until now remained anonymous – travel back to the scene of the attack with reporter Charles Wooley, retracing the shocking details of the terrifying midnight incident.
The parents of a 14-month-old boy attacked by a dingo on Fraser Island are set to break their silence in an exclusive 60 Minutes interview, just six weeks after their horrific ordeal. 60 Minutes
Luke and Sarah Allister – who have until now remained anonymous – travel back to the scene of the attack with reporter Charles Wooley, retracing the shocking details of the terrifying midnight incident. 60 Minutes
‘The Dingo Did It’ airs this Sunday on Channel 9 after The Voice. For more on 60 Minutes, visit the official website.
“There was a lot of blood,” they tell 60 Minutes.
“I remember his cries just starting to fade.”
Luke and Sarah had taken baby Hunter and four-year-old daughter Harper to Fraser Island for what was supposed to be a week-long Easter camping trip.
But in the early hours of Friday April 19, their holiday became a nightmare when they were woken by a startling cry.
Luke and Sarah had taken baby Hunter and four-year-old daughter Harper to Fraser Island for what was supposed to be a week-long Easter camping trip. 60 Minutes
In the early hours of Friday April 19, their holiday became a nightmare when they were woken by a startling cry. 60 Minutes
“His cry went from being inside the camper to outside,” Sarah says.
“I don't know what went through my head, I just sat up and said, ‘Luke he's outside!’”
Luke ran from the campervan towards the cries and was confronted with the image of his young son in the jaws of a wild dingo, being dragged towards the bush.
“That’s when a pack of them circled me and they were getting more cocky,” he tells Wooley.
“They were getting closer.”
The brutal attack on 14-month-old Hunter Allister was the third so far this year at Fraser Island, visited by 400,000 tourists annually. 60 Minutes
Sarah’s mother, Shaurne Keast, was also camping with the young family and made the chilling call to emergency services, desperate for help.
She tells Wooley the call was torturous, dropping in and out of phone service while they were forced to fear the worst.
“When you tell the operator the baby is dying, do you actually think that?” asks Wooley.
“Absolutely. I thought he was.”
The brutal attack on 14-month-old Hunter Allister was the third so far this year at Fraser Island, visited by 400,000 tourists annually.
It has reignited the debate on traveller safety, with park rangers warning that the opportunistic animals are purposely staking out the campsites looking for a free meal and losing their ancient fear of humans.
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