The family of a British man feared to have been shot dead in the Australian outback today spoke of their anguish.
Mr Peter Falconio (28) and girlfriend Ms Joanne Lees (27) were ambushed in their camper van on a desert highway 175-miles north of Alice Springs, police said.
Joanne told police she was trussed up and thrown into a van by a mystery attacker but escaped by wriggling her legs free and fleeing into the outback.
It is feared her boyfriend, of Hepworth, near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, was shot by the man.
Today his family said they were still waiting for news of what had happened. His brother Paul said: "Nobody has said anything official. It was only when Joanne's parents were watching the news yesterday that they put two and two together and feared it could be them.
"The family are going through hell. We are just waiting for the phone to ring and are just sitting tight and praying," he said.
"We spoke to him on Friday and he said he was having the time of his life. He was in Alice Springs and said they were planning to go up country."
Mr Falconio, a building surveyor, left Britain with his girlfriend of five years last November to go on a round-the-world trip.
Peter's father later made an emotional appeal for information abut his son's whereabouts.
Wiping away tears, Mr Falconio called on people who knew anything about his son's disappearance to come forward. "I hope anybody who knows something comes forward.
"Peter is a good guy and I hope they catch the person who did it. My son did not deserve this."
Mr Falconio revealed he was due to retire in two weeks' time as a postmaster.
He had worked at the Post Office, in New Mill, near Huddersfield, this morning because it was the only way he knew how to cope with the situation.
"I'm just trying the best that I can.
"We haven't managed to talk to Jo, but I think her parents have managed it but they weren't able to tell us much."
PA