Image copyright WA Police Image caption The signal, made of rocks, was spotted by a helicopter pilot 
 
 Police say they may have found out who left an SOS signal made of rocks in a remote part of Western Australia. 
 
 The rocks were spotted by a helicopter pilot last month, prompting fears that someone, or more than one person, could be missing. 
 
 Police now believe it was likely to be a genuine distress signal left by a man and woman who became stranded in 2013. 
 
 They say they were contacted by the brother of the man, who read about the case on the BBC. 
 
 "The brother actually saw an article on the BBC," Senior Sgt Dave Rudd of Western Australia Police. 
 
 The man, called John, said his brother - identified only as Robert - and a female companion were aboard a yacht that became stranded at Swift Bay, about 500km (300 miles) from the city of Broome in 2013. 
 
 The pair boarded an escape raft which at some point "was attacked by a couple of crocodiles" but made it to shore safely and built the SOS signal. 
 
 Senior Sgt Rudd said they survived on rations, found some fresh water and were eventually rescued by another passing yacht. 
 
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 Police said they have not been able to speak directly with Robert because he is on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea. 
 
 But they said they had seen photographs showing the distress signal taken at the time the pair ran into trouble. 
 
 "We can see from the photo that it's the same location and the same SOS," Senior Sgt Rudd said. 
 
 "We're very confident it's legitimate and it's the real deal but until we speak with him there's still a few unanswered questions." ||||| The mystery behind an SOS sign found in a remote part of the Kimberley has been solved. 
 
 The sign made from rocks was photographed by a pilot flying over Swift Bay near Kalumburu last month. 
 
 The story made headlines around the world and a report on the BBC prompted a man to contact Kalumburu police to tell them his brother Robert had made the sign when his yacht was stranded in the area in 2013. 
 
 Camera Icon The sign in the Kimberley. Picture: WAPolice 
 
 Kalumburu Acting Senior Sergeant Dave Rudd said he had only spoken to Robert via email but gathered he and a friend were stranded for a few days before being picked up by a passing yacht. 
 
 During their time stranded they were attacked by crocodiles twice and survived on fresh water they found nearby. 
 
 “He said after three days they saw a plane flying overhead and realised the SOS sign couldn’t be seen from the air.” 
 
 Snr Sgt Rudd said the pair were lucky a yacht found them after only a few days because Swift Bay was an extremely remote part of the world.
– It had police scratching their heads—and wondering if they should be searching for missing persons: an SOS message spotted by helicopter in a part of Western Australia so remote the nearest city of note is more than 600 miles away. Now police may have their answer, thanks in no small part to the BBC. It reports that a man identified only as John read its initial coverage of the mystery and called police, telling them his brother Robert and a female became stranded at the location of the rocks—Swift Bay—in 2013. Unable to operate their yacht out of the bay, John says they dramatically weathered a crocodile attack while en route to shore in an escape raft; upon landing there, he says they constructed the SOS from rocks. The story ended, John says, with the pair being picked up by another yacht, and police are "very confident" that story is "legitimate and it's the real deal," Senior Sgt. Dave Rudd with the Western Australia Police tells the BBC. The West Australian reports police have thus far communicated with Robert, who is currently sailing in the Mediterranean, only via email, with Rudd offering this: "He said after three days they saw a plane flying overhead and realized the SOS sign couldn’t be seen from the air." But Rudd says police have seen photos taken from the time of the pair's alleged stranding, and "we can see from the photo that it's the same location and the same SOS." (An SOS led to this desert-island rescue.)