Queensland Coroner hands down findings in Jeremiah Jayo Rivers’ disappearance

The coroner has handed down his findings almost three years to the day since Jeremiah ‘Jayo’ Rivers vanished in the Queensland outback.

A man who disappeared in outback Queensland while travelling with six others was likely the victim of foul play, a mammoth coronial investigation has found.

The inquest also cleared Queensland Police Service of any wrongdoing in the subsequent search and criminal investigation, ruling that delays, lies, and inconsistencies given by the other members of the travelling group were the greatest hindrance to finding the Indigenous man.

A five-day inquest was held in Brisbane Coroners Court last year, examining the disappearance of 27-year-old Jeremiah “Jayo” Rivers, last seen at a campsite at the remote Wippo Creek, near Noccundra in South West Queensland, on October 18, 2021.

Mr Rivers and his kinship brother Joe Joe Kantilla-Gaden arranged the trip from Balranald in NSW to the Northern Territory, which they called home.

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

The inquest heard that the group drove more than 1000km and illegally crossed the closed Queensland-NSW border to Wippo Creek. When they arrived around 7am or 8am on October 18, the group claims Mr Rivers went off to swim to cool down.

Jeremiah ‘Jayo’ Rivers was last seen at a campsite at the remote Wippo Creek in outback Queensland on October 18, 2021.

He did not return and was never seen again. He was not reported missing until 3pm the next day. A subsequent extensive eight-day search found nothing.

Announcing his findings on Thursday – almost three years to the day since Mr Rivers was last seen – Coroner Donald MacKenzie said he ultimately could not refer the case to the Director of Public Prosecutions office for potential criminal charges.

“The lies and suspicious post-offence behaviour by October 22, 2021 where at least seven different versions were provided by those members, are lies that cannot be used in a criminal case strictly as post offence behaviour,” Mr MacKenzie said.

“The reason is there is another explanation (for their repeated lies to police across multiple states) – they were trafficking cannabis, possibly other drugs, to the Northern Territory, or they were in breach of Covid- 19 restrictions at the time.

“I have determined on the balance of probabilities that Jayo is deceased and was likely the victim of foul play.

“My other concern in terms of making a referral to the DPP is that Jayo could still have died from natural causes … such as heat exposure or sunstroke.”

No charges have been laid over Mr Rivers’ disappearance, the alleged Covid-19 border breach when the group crossed into Queensland, or the alleged drug trafficking plot into the Northern Territory.

Mr MacKenzie referenced in his findings evidence heard last year that members of the group were carrying three pounds of cannabis in their vehicles with the intent to sell it in Darwin, and their entry into Queensland breached COVID-19 border rules in place at the time.

“It was put to Mr Kantilla-Gaden [during the 2023 inquest] that Jayo found out about the drug trafficking at Wippo Creek too, and he was unhappy about it, which then led to a fight between Jayo and the group. Mr Kantilla-Gaden denied this,” the Coroner found.

“Mr Moore denied seeing or knowing about any drugs being transported. The rest of the travelling group denied any knowledge of drug trafficking.

“If the group were trafficking drugs interstate, this would be another possible motive for the suspicious behaviour by the travelling group.

“However, there is insufficient evidence before this court to determine whether trafficking was, in fact occurring, much less to determine whether drug trafficking may have had anything to do with Jayo’s disappearance and death.”

The family of missing man Jeremiah Rivers during the inquest in Brisbane earlier this year. Picture: Tertius Pickard

The court also heard that Queensland police have conducted a further investigation and search since the five-day inquest last year, but no further details were given in court on Thursday. Mr Rivers’ family said they had limited knowledge of what had occurred, but believed an alternative site was searched this year without success.

Ultimately, the Coroner announced on Thursday that while he believed “there is a reasonable suspicion of homicide”, he could not identify any particular persons involved.

“It would be pure speculation that all of the group were involved. Whilst all were dishonest with the police by telling untruths and inconsistencies, I cannot ignore the explanation that the lies were to obscure the possible trafficking dangerous drugs and/or Covid -19 breach avoidance, not a homicide,” Mr MacKenzie said.

Jeremiah Rivers went missing near Noccundra in 2021.

“Perhaps more importantly, the consistent changing of the narrative of Jayo’s disappearance delayed and redirected QPS search resources to different areas.

“Thirty hours had elapsed before Jayo’s disappearance was officially reported and any search was compromised by multiple potential search points plus a full day of potentially lethal hot weather conditions.”

Outside court, Jayo’s uncle Digby Rivers maintained that the family were “let down by Queensland and Victorian police” but thanked the Coroner for “bringing all of that to light”.

“We’ll never stop looking, we’ll keep pushing for answers and hopefully bring him home,” he said.

“We sorts had that feeling the whole time [that foul play could have been involved] – being a [AFL] footballer he was fit as a fiddle and he knew the bush, we always knew he didn’t just walk off.”

Digby Rivers said he was pleased to hear the Coroner describe the other six group members as unreliable witnesses, some of whom had been caught in “outright lies”.

“One of them has to stand up and be accountable,” Mr Rivers said.

The Coroner said Queensland police had assured him that the criminal investigation into Mr Rivers’ disappearance remained open.

Mr MacKenzie also made several recommendations including that QPS review training procedures regarding the history of First Nations people and consider providing training on trauma-informed communication with families, particularly First Nations families.

He further recommended Indigenous Police Liaison Officers are used in cases of missing First Nations people to ensure greater culturally sensitive communication with families.