Theo Hayez inquest: Family, supporters arrive in Byron Bay | Video
The loved ones of a Belgian backpacker who vanished in Byron Bay have doubts about the “working theory” police have on the mystery as a coronial inquest gets under way.
Byron Shire
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A series of key questions are set to be explored during an inquest into the 2019 disappearance of Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez.
Theo was 18 when he was last seen leaving Cheeky Monkey’s nightclub on Jonson Street shortly after 11pm on May 31.
State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan is presiding over the inquest into his disappearance.
The proceedings started on Monday and are expected to run for a fortnight.
Counsel assisting the Coroner, Kirsten Edwards, said police believed it was misadventure that befell Theo.
“The working theory of the police is that Theo tried to climb the cliffs at Cosy Corner, fell, and was swept out to sea,” Ms Edwards told the court.
She said police believed Theo, after walking along the Milne Track which began near Paterson Street and traversed part of Arakwal National Park, wound up at Tallow Beach before trying to scale the grassy cliffs beneath Cape Byron.
But Ms Edwards said Theo’s family felt the theory was at odds with the character of the young man they knew.
“There is nothing in (the evidence) that suggests that Theo was reckless, that he liked to engage in dangerous physical activity,” Ms Edwards said.
Questions remain as to whether Theo was alone on the Milne Track.
Prior to entering it, he stopped for seven minutes near the cricket nets at the recreation grounds.
She said the lead police investigator acknowledged how difficult it was to find that track in the dark.
“It’s hard to see any pathway up at night at all, it’s very dark and obviously dangerous,” Ms Edwards said.
“The family feel it would be completely inconsistent with Theo’s character to attempt something so reckless, particularly alone.
“But, if Theo did climb and fall, it is possible that his body could be washed away without remains ever being recovered.”
She said there were two known cases of disappearances at sea at the same location where Theo’s phone data last reliably placed him, at Cosy Corner on Tallow Beach.
A police officer, Andrew Murray, disappeared there trying to rescue a swimmer in trouble in 1989 and the same happened to an Irish surfer, Stuart Butler, in 2014.
David Evenden, the lawyer representing Theo’s family, said his clients wanted to leave “no stone unturned”.
“Theo’s family have come here hoping to get answers about what happened to Theo and they understand that could be a long process,” Mr Evenden said.
“They feel strongly supported by members of the Byron Bay community.
“They remain concerned that there are people in the community who may know more about Theo’s disappearance.”
Questions to be interrogated through the inquest include why Theo walked to Tallow Beach after accessing Google Maps directions back to his hostel which was in the opposite direction.
The inquest will also consider why he spent time at the cricket nets near the Youth Activity Centre, how he found the Milne Track and why he began his journey along it.
Phone data shows Theo turned off that track at or before a “crossroads”, veering into dense bushland.
His cap was found in the same area.
His family believes it was uncharacteristic for Theo, “protective of his possessions”, to leave his hat behind.
Picture: Liana Boss
Ms Edwards said another key question was what happened to Theo at 1.02am, when his phone stopped receiving data until a few hours later.
“Something happened at 1:02am,” she said.
“If we knew what that was we would probably know what happened to Theo.”
The coroner and other involved in the inquest visited several locations of interest on Monday afternoon.
They included the Wake Up hostel, the former Cheeky Monkey’s bar – which is no longer operating – and the vicinity of Theo’s walking route on the night he disappeared.
Theo had arrived in Byron Bay on May 29.
He had planned to stay until the following week.
The inquest heard Theo accessed directions back to the Wake Up hostel on Belongil Beach.
“Instead, he walked in the opposite direction to Tallow Beach,” Ms Edwards said.
CCTV showing him walking away from the venue, on his phone, is the last footage of Theo.
“Theo’s ejection on his own and without any chance to tell his friends has caused his family an enormous amount of distress,” Ms Edwards said.
Ms Edwards said while he was removed from the venue at 11.03pm on the basis of intoxication, the evidence of his alcohol affectation was “ambiguous”.
She acknowledged NSW’s strict alcohol laws under which it was possible for mistakes to be made.
Theo had arrived at the club in a group of six, including a fellow Belgian traveller named Antoine, who he had met at his hostel, and four women about 9.35pm.
Ms Edwards said members of that group had no idea Theo was removed from the club due to alleged intoxication until police and coronial investigations.
She said this news was met with “almost universal” confusion from the group.
Theo’s last known contact was in a message to his stepsister at 12.55am on June 1.
He was reported missing on June 6, 2019, by his family – after he failed to arrive in Melbourne as planned – and by the hostel because he had not checked out and they found valuables including his camera and passport in his dorm room.
Investigators found no trace of Theo apart from his Puma cap which was located by a volunteer community search group some weeks after his disappearance.
The court heard phone location data showed Theo began walking on the Milne track which began near the Byron Bay cricket nets and went toward Tallow Beach.
But at some point he departed from the track.
The coroner walked the track in question, once during the day and once at night, about a year ago.
“Everyone said it was essential your honour walk this track at night to understand how strange it would be for a foreigner to walk alone,” Ms Edwards said.
She said an investigating police officer described the track as “dark” and “frightening”.
“There’s a beam from the lighthouse that goes by about every 15 seconds but that doesn’t provide any actual illumination,” she said.
“It’s very hard to understand why anyone would take this route alone or at night.”
Before taking the track, Theo stopped at the cricket nets for about seven minutes.
It’s not known whether he spoke to anyone there although it is known as a place where people sometimes gather at night, the court heard.
Cosy Corner at Tallow Beach was the last reliable location from Theo’s mobile phone, Ms Edward said.
Family members of Theo and some of their supporters from the local community arrived at Byron Bay Court House on Monday morning for the first day of the inquest.
It is expected to run for two weeks.
Theo’s father, Laurent Hayez, told media before the proceedings it had been a long journey, physically and emotionally.
“But, when we are in Byron Bay, we feel that we are among family,” Mr Hayez said.
“The outcome of this inquest matters to everybody, not only here but also in Belgium and around the world.”
Theo’s godfather, Jean-Phillippe Pector, was also among the loved ones in attendance along with his mother and grandmother.
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