Officers Search Stream After Crocodile Report Suspected AI Image
Officers in Chon Buri searched a stream after a child reported seeing a crocodile but found nothing; authorities suspect the photograph may have been AI-generated.
Officers Search Stream After Crocodile Report, Find Nothing—AI Image Suspected
At 2:00 p.m. on September 20, 2569, Dassakorn Kamchaem, village headman of Moo 5, Nong Pla Lai Subdistrict, together with Bang La Muang District officials, rescue personnel from the Sawang Boriboon Foundation, and about 20 residents, inspected the public stream within Racha Forest Park, Nong Hua Red Soi 3, Moo 5, Nong Pla Lai Subdistrict, Bang La Muang District, Chon Buri Province. They responded to a report that someone had spotted a crocodile in the stream, which had raised safety concerns.
Officers deployed personnel and equipment along the stream for a comprehensive search. The water level was shallow, rising only slightly above ankle height. The search lasted approximately one hour but uncovered no crocodile or traces confirming its presence, so operations were suspended.
Dassakorn disclosed that residents had reported a child—offspring of a park worker—walking near the stream who claimed to see a crocodile emerge. The child told his mother, whose account reached the village headman, triggering coordination with assistants, residents, and rescue officials for a safety inspection.
Meanwhile, a park employee stated the incident occurred on the evening of September 19 when the child visited his mother at work, walked by the stream, claimed to spot a crocodile, and took a photograph to show her.
After the search yielded no crocodile, officials and relevant parties examined the image in question and made a preliminary observation that it may have been AI-generated or AI-altered. However, no definitive evidence has yet confirmed this conclusion.
Reports indicate that the original image file on the child's phone has been deleted, preventing examination of the raw file and additional image data.
Accordingly, all parties suspended the search after approximately one hour of inspecting the area without finding a crocodile or evidence substantiating its appearance in the stream.
