Overview
- The incident occurred on December 20 in Narellan, south‑west Sydney, when a woman in her 40s felt something on her leg while geocaching and discovered an eastern brown snake wedged through the heel loop of her sneaker.
- NSW Ambulance called snake catcher Cory Kerewaro, who identified the species from a photo, pinned the snake on arrival and enabled responders to undo the shoe so the woman could remove her foot.
- Paramedics then cut the heel loop to free the reptile, applied a pressure bandage and a box splint for limb immobilisation, and transported the patient to hospital for assessment.
- Marks on her legs were observed, with uncertainty over bites versus scratches, and the woman later reported she suspected multiple bites, though not all venomous snake bites result in envenomation.
- The snake showed signs of heat stress on hot bitumen and later died of heat exposure, while the woman was treated as a suspected bite patient and has since been released from hospital.