A CROCODILE expert, who worked with legendary crocodile hunter Malcolm Douglas, says the woman attacked by a croc on Sunday would have been in the water for 'about a minute' before being snatched.

A crocodile dragged 46-year-old Cindy Waldron under the water late on Sunday night as she waded in the ocean with her friend, 47-year-old Leeann Mitchell, near Cape Tribulation.

Brad Blake, who runs ProCon Pest & Wildlife Management and worked with Douglas at his crocodile park in Broome, said the predator would have been 'stalking' the pair as it patrolled the Thornton Beach coastline and nearby Cooper and Noah Creek.

“Malcolm Douglas used to tell me you only have one minute,” Blake said.

“If you get into the water while a large croc’s around and hunting, which it would have been at that time of night, then you’ve only got about a minute before it strikes.

“These women would not have known a croc was watching them, but that’s what they do. It was stalking them and they didn’t even know it.”

The frightening assessment is consistent with police reports this morning confirming the two had been in the water - arm-in-arm - for less than 60 seconds before Waldron was taken.

The professional photographer, from Lithgow in NSW, and Mitchell had just finished dinner at a Thornton Beach cafe when they went for a walk and eventually entered the water.

"They'd only been in the water for no more than a minute," Senior Constable Russell Parker said.

A monster five-metre crocodile was seen several times near the beach in the days leading up to the attack. Blake said a croc of that size could have locked its gaze on the New Zealand-born pair from a long-distance.

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“Crocs have amazing eyesight and large crocodiles actually patrol an area at night seeking out and looking for prey. They’re in hunt mode,” he said.

“It would have been scoping these ladies out as soon as they decided to head towards the water. Initially it would have been weighing up if they were a threat, and then it would have just hung around hoping they’d get in.

“It sounds like it was hunting for food and just capitalised on an opportunity. They are opportunistic predators and do see us as food.”

There is still no trace of the missing woman after more than two days of air, land and sea searches of the area. Blake said if the croc had come from one of the nearby estuaries, such as Coopers Creek, it may have taken the victim up stream.

Crocodile traps have been deployed and set in Coopers Creek, along with nearby Noah Creek. Crocodile experts from Townsville have also joined the police coordinated search, which has been focusing on the shore and tideline of the area. 

The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP), water police and SES boats and crew are also involved but are yet to find anything.

Mitchell is still in shock from the incident and remains in the Mossman Hospital in a stable condition. The Cairns woman was celebrating the end of a cancer-treatment round with her friend before the tragedy.