Falconio: killer's dog found

The dog that Outback kidnap victim Joanne Lees said her attacker used to hunt for her has been found.

Jack, a dalmatian, was the constant companion of Bradley John Murdoch, the man accused of kidnapping British backpacker Miss Lees and murdering her boyfriend Peter Falconio, 28, in Northern Territory in 2001.

Ms Lees told police that she managed to escape into the bush after a gunman had beaten, manacled and gagged her.

For five hours she cowered in the dark while the attacker hunted her using a torch and "a spotted dog".

She said the dog came close to her, but did not pick up her scent. The gunman eventually gave up, driving off with Mr Falconio's body, which has still not been found.

Murdoch, 45, is currently on trial for the double rape of a 12-yearold girl and kidnapping the child and her mother at gunpoint.

Jack the dog was a present from the girl's mother.

He was penned up on an isolated property at Swan Reach, near Port Augusta in South Australia, where the rape is alleged to have taken place.

The jury visited the property last week.

Northern Territory police will apply for a warrant to extradite Murdoch after the rape and abduction trial at Adelaide District Court, South Australia.