Outback body find probably not missing tourist

ALICE SPRINGS, Australia -- Police investigating the disappearance of British tourist Peter Falconio in Australia's remote Northern Territory said Monday the body of a caucasian man has been found in scrub south of the town of Alice Springs.

However the body was not dressed in the clothes Falconio, 28, was wearing when he was believed to have been shot on July 14 by an unknown assailant who attempted to abduct his 27-year-old girlfriend, Joanne Lees, a police spokeswoman said.

"I don't know what clothes this person is wearing, but I have been told that they're not the same as Peter Falconio was wearing," the spokeswoman said.

"At this stage, we don't believe it is Mr Falconio but police have yet to identify the body or the cause of death.

"We know it's a caucasian male but that's all."

Investigators suspect Falconio died soon after he was shot in an ambush 300km north of Alice Springs.

His partner Lees was bound and gagged but managed to elude the gunman.

A massive manhunt over the Northern Territory, an area five times the size of Britain, has failed to find any trace of the gunman or of Falconio.

Huge reward offered

The police spokeswoman said detectives and forensic experts had gone to examine the body.

"Anything is possible," she said when asked whether there was a link to the Falconio case.

"But we don't have any identity or anything like that at this stage," she said.

Police have followed up hundreds of possible sightings of the gunman across Australia but have gathered few firm leads despite a manhunt using Aboriginal trackers and aircraft.

Police have also offered a reward of $130,000 (Aust. $250,000) for information leading to an arrest of the gunman.

Reuters contributed to this report.