Police are still searching for the 46-year-old, who was attacked about 10.30pm as she and a friend swam in waist-deep water at Thornton Beach, north of the Daintree River. Federal MP Warren Entsch: "The Prime Minister has not called me. Not at all. His office hasn't called up." Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Her friend, 47, survived but has been left in deep shock after trying in vain to pull the victim from the croc's jaws. Mr Entsch says Thornton Beach neighbours a creek where tourism operators run croc-spotting tours, and the women would have seen the plentiful warning signs throughout the Daintree region. "You can only get there by ferry, and there are signs there saying watch out for the bloody crocodiles," he said.

"If you go in swimming at 10 o'clock at night, you're going to get consumed." A saltwater crocodile has been blamed for the woman's disappearance. Credit:Tourism and Events Queensland Mr Entsch said he feared the attack might spark a reactive debate about how to manage crocodiles, but people must remember the attack happened inside a national park in an area where visitors are warned about the dangers. "Let's not start vendettas. It's hard enough for some families to make a quid up there in the Daintree, showcasing crocs in their environment," he said. "People have to have some level of responsibility for their own actions."

Police say the women weren't from the local area and the missing woman's friend fought desperately to save her. "[She] tried to grab her and drag her to safety and she just wasn't able to do that," Senior Constable Russell Parker has told ABC radio. "They had been walking along the beach and they've decided to go for a swim ... [it was] probably a very nice, clear night, but obviously [they] may not have been aware of the dangers." The friend ran to a nearby business to raise the alarm, and was taken to hospital suffering shock and grazes. The search for the missing woman is continuing. The case has echoes of a fatal croc attack near the Daintree River just before Christmas in 1985.

Beryl Wruck, 43, was taken by a five-metre croc after a fateful decision to take a late-night dip in the shallows of Barratt Creek after an evening of dancing and drinking with friends. More recently, five-year-old Jeremy Doble died when he was attacked by a 4.3-metre crocodile in a swamp behind his Daintree River home. He vanished in February 2009, with his seven-year-old brother telling police he saw a croc in the water moments after the boy disappeared. Loading AAP