a loud bang from the rear of the van, and moments later the man was at the window brandishing a silver handgun. The gunman climbed into the van. Lees let him secure her hands behind her back with black cable ties, but fought the tying of her feet and taping of her mouth. She was then dragged to the Toyota (noticing the gunman's dog) but, fearing rape, managed to flee into the bush while the gunman was distracted (apparently while moving Falconio's body). The gunman searched for Lees before leaving, passing nearby three times, but she hid before finally flagging down a road train driver at 12:35 am, who with his co-driver took her back to Barrow Creek. Investigation The Alice Springs Police were called around 1:30am, arrived to collect evidence and testimonies at around 4:20am, and (accompanied by the road train driver) commenced a search for Falconio, the Toyota, and the gunman at 7:00 am. Returning to the scene, they found a dirt-covered pool of blood and the couple's Kombi hidden some 80 metres into the scrub. It was not until eight hours after the rescue that roadblocks were put in place on the twelve likely roads exiting the district. Police searches of the area in the following months revealed little except Lees' footprints. Four Aboriginal trackers arrived from a nearby settlement within a few days but none of them found evidence of either Falconio or the gunman. Given the unusual nature of the attack, and the lack of corroborating evidence (i.e. Falconio's belongings or body), it took the police some days to appreciate the significance of the crime. But in the wake of the backpacker case, the media were quick to sensationalise Lees' story as one of survival in a crime of unusual horror against all odds. However, inconsistencies in Lees' statements and her demeanour in the following weeks shifted attention to the veracity of her version of the incident (e.g. the perpetrator's facial composite, the actual type of vehicle or dog, and assumed CCTV footage of the suspect from a service station in Alice Springs), similar to what had happened in the Azaria Chamberlain case. A $250,000 reward was posted, but the only new evidence in the Falconio case was an unidentified male-DNA trace on Lees' T-shirt, and some related DNA on the cable ties and Kombi gearstick. Police were hopeful that the release of the CCTV