Jeremiah Rivers disappearance: Family calls for Coroner to ‘come down hard’ on police over their investigation

The family of a man missing in outback Queensland is demanding a Coroner comes down hard on police and holds them accountable for their “dismissive and inadequate” investigation into his disappearance.

The family of a man missing in outback Queensland is demanding a Coroner comes down hard on police and holds them accountable for their “dismissive and inadequate” investigation into his disappearance.

Jeremiah “Jayo” Rivers, 27, was last seen at a campsite at the remote Wippo Creek, near Noccundra in southwest Queensland, around 8am on October 18, 2021, with an inquest into the handling of the investigation into his disappearance held in November.

His family believe his disappearance was treated like “another blackfella gone walkabout” and “a worthless druggie” and, two years on, they remain resolute in their quest to not only disprove these assertions, but also find their loved one and bring him home.

Jeremiah “Jayo” Rivers, 27, was last seen at a campsite at the remote Wippo Creek, near Noccundra in South West Queensland, on October 18, 2021.

Mr Rivers’ aunties, Belinda and Marcia, travelled to Brisbane from Western Australia and the Northern Territory to attend the coronial inquest in the last week of November.

Speaking exclusively to The Saturday Courier-Mail, they reflected on the five days of evidence and their feelings ahead of the findings, which are expected in late February.

It was meant to be a simple pig-hunting trip with friends en route to the Northern Territory to visit family.

What transpired was an illegal venture with the potential for a $60,000 fine, as well as an eight-day multi-agency ground and aerial search that found no trace.

The family of missing man Jeremiah Rivers gather outside the Brisbane Magistrates Court after attending the inquest into his disappearance. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

Mr Rivers and kinship brother Joe Joe Kantilla-Gaden arranged the trip from Balranald, NSW.

Their friend Matthew Moore joined them, as did his Victorian friends – Travis Clare, Dylan Thomas, Joel McMaster and Kane Toohey.

The group drove more than 1000km and crossed the closed Queensland-NSW border, which was illegal at the time due to Covid.

According to the group, soon after arriving at Wippo Creek, Mr Rivers went for a swim nearby to cool down. He did not return and was never seen again.

He was not reported missing until 3pm the next day.

The group attributed the delay to them being afraid of contacting police after having illegally entered the state, which carried a hefty fine.

Police are continuing to appeal for information to find Jeremiah Rivers, who went missing near Noccundra.

After sitting through a “very tough” five-day inquest, they hope a coroner will “come down hard” on a police investigation that they say was dismissive and inadequate.

“We want the Coroner to come down hard on the police and make them do their job. They need to be held accountable,” Marcia said.

“It was like he was just another statistic, another blackfella had gone walkabout.”

Belinda added: “We stayed in Queensland for four months doing our own investigation. Everything we found we gave to police, only to be shut down or have nothing come of it.”

The family described the past two years as “an emotional rollercoaster”.

Jayo Rivers in action in the NTFL Premier League at Gardens oval in Darwin.

A massive search was conducted across southwest Queensland to try to find Mr Rivers.

“You encourage your kids to go away, do their best and honour the family. Now we regret sitting with him and giving that advice. It has made us carry a lot of guilt,” Marcia said.

Belinda added: “We pushed him (Jayo) to follow his dreams and make a name for himself, but this is not the name we want him to be remembered by.”

They said the inquest was “very tough”, with family members leaving the courtroom at times.

“There are no words to explain the depth of how it has affected this whole family. He was the favourite of the family, a role model,” Marcia said.

“You try to be strong, but then someone stops you in the street and asks how everything is going and it brings you back to that same dreadful feeling again.”

During the inquest, the Brisbane Coroners Court heard evidence that the trip was used by some group members to smuggle 1.3kg of cannabis into Darwin to then sell the drugs for a total of around $72,000.

There were also claims that Mr Rivers had called a friend in the early hours on the day he vanished using Facebook Messenger.

The family of missing man Jeremiah Rivers gather outside the Brisbane Magistrates Court after attending the inquest into his disappearance. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

The evidence was that Mr Rivers had been in a fight with Mr Kantilla-Gaden, who had then got the other group members on his side.

The inquest heard Mr Rivers “wanted to get away” as he was “outnumbered” and “scared for his life”.

Mr Kantilla-Gaden denied these claims when he testified during the inquest.

There is also no record to corroborate the Facebook Messenger call because Mr Rivers’ friend cannot remember the password to the Facebook account. There are ongoing efforts to access this account.

Mr Rivers’ family were distressed by the conflicting evidence from the other group members, with Coroner Donald MacKenzie labelling them “a movable feast of lies” during the inquest.

But the police investigation was also questioned during the inquest, with detectives accused of “cherrypicking” information to “have the investigation put to bed”.

A date for the delivery of the coronial findings has not yet been listed.