By Heather McNeill
Updated September 28, 2023 — 9.27amfirst published September 27, 2023 — 5.36pm
Police have laid charges over an incident in Cervantes where a naked man acting erratically was pulled from the ocean by fishermen, but are continuing to investigate the discovery of human remains in a burnt-out car on a nearby major road.
Major crime Detective Senior Sergeant Greg McDonald said on Tuesday investigators were still trying to ascertain if there was a link between the two incidents after a charred white two-door Mitsubishi Pajero was discovered on its side on Indian Ocean Drive about 12.30am Tuesday.
Police are investigating whether the discovery of a charred white vehicle with a body inside, is linked to the discovery of a red car and naked man in the ocean nearby. Credit: Nine News Perth
The human remains inside are yet to be identified, with the case being treated as a suspected homicide.
“We haven’t established identification, we don’t know a cause of death, and we don’t know how that person came to be in that vehicle,” McDonald said.
A second car – a red SUV – was later found floating in the ocean three kilometres away, with a naked man spotted by fishermen screaming and allegedly letting off flares from the hull of an adrift boat about 500 metres from the shore.
The man jumped into the water and was rescued by the fishermen before being arrested and taken to hospital for a medical assessment.
He has since been charged with four offences, including assaulting a public officer and assaulting a person aiding a public officer.
The Hamilton Hill man will appear in Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday.
On Tuesday, McDonald said he was aware of the owners of the two vehicles, but did not know how either car came to be in Cervantes, who was driving them, or if they were linked to the arrested man.
The Pajero was driven erratically from the southern Perth suburb of Hamilton Hill on Monday night before being involved in a crash on Indian Ocean Drive, which forced it onto its side. It was then engulfed in flames.
“We’re appealing for information from anyone who may have seen that vehicle on those roads, it’s likely it would have attracted attention as we believe the vehicle was travelling at speed during the course of that trip,” McDonald said.
The car travelled along Canning Highway, Mitchell Freeway and Indian Ocean Drive, beginning its journey around 9pm.
Both vehicles involved in the two incidents are subject to forensic investigations.
A post-mortem is not expected to be carried out on the human remains until next week due to a backlog of cases.
McDonald assured the community the two incidents were likely isolated, and there was no ongoing risk to the small coastal community of Cervantes, which is home to around 500 people.
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