Teenager dies in care, suspected crocodile victim A 15-year-old who went missing while in care was found dead, his body showing signs of a crocodile attack. A MENTALLY impaired teenager supposed to be under the highest level of supervision by the Department of Child Protection is believed to have been killed by a crocodile after wandering off alone in the Kimberley region. The 15-year-old was found dead his body showing signs of a crocodile attack on March 14 in bushland near La Djadarr Bay, 140km north of Broome. A day earlier he was reported missing after he walked off while preparing to go fishing with a carer. A gifted musician, he suffered from foetal alcohol syndrome a condition caused by a mother drinking alcohol during pregnancy that results in permanent mental and physical defects. His stepmother who cared for him from the time he was a toddler to his early teens said his death should act as a wake-up call to the Government that more funding and resources were needed to help communities struggling with FAS. "He had a big heart and wanted to be friends with everyone he met," she said. The stepmother said she put the boy into the care of the DCP in March 2011 after he developed substance-abuse problems. DCP director-general Terry Murphy said the boy had walked off "against the advice" of care workers. "The care workers were from the Dampier Peninsula area and well aware of the environment they were in," he said. These activities were in an area that was known to the boy as he was born and raised in the region and well familiar with the landscape and associated risk that the remote bush area posed. The 15-year-old was being cared for by the DCP in partnership with not-for-profit organisation Life Without Barriers. His cause of death is being investigated by the Coroner. Opposition child protection spokesman Sally Talbot said FAS had fallen between the cracks of Government for too long and the issue needed to taken seriously. "You talk to any of the teachers in the Kimberley and they will tell you they have classrooms full of FAS kids with no special assistance because they're not classified as having an illness or disability," Dr Talbot said. A whole community is deeply shocked by this death. It is a major failure on behalf of the child protection system and the Government needs to tell us exactly what happened and what is going to change to ensure it doesn't happen again. Mr Murphy said caring for children with FAS was a "substantial challenge" and raising awareness about the risks of alcohol consumption during pregnancy was the key to combating the problem.