Melbourne family of teen Yiel ‘Yoal’ Gatluak found dead near Alice Springs need help to bring him home

The grieving family of a young mechanic found dead in the Northern Territory need help to bring their “lucky son” home to Melbourne.

Yiel Gatluak was born in Australia to South Sudanese parents and was raised in Melbourne's east and went to school in Dandenong. Supplied: Mary Riek

The Melbourne family of a young man found dead in suspicious circumstances interstate have spoken of their unimaginable pain as they face the additional burden and costs to bring their “lucky son” home.

The parents of 19-year-old Yiel “Yoal” Gatluak, whose body was found on a dirt road near Alice Springs on New Year's Day, have begged for answers surrounding his death as they begin to pool funds to return him to the family.

A former St John’s Regional College (Dandenong) student, Yiel was raised in Patterson Lakes in Melbourne’s southeast and lived in Doveton before he moved interstate and chased work as a mechanic in 2021.

Yoal Deng Gatluak was found dead near Alice Springs on New Year’s Day.

 
He was born just days after his family migrated to Australia from South Sudan under a humanitarian program and was known as their “lucky son”.
Yiel’s father, Deng Gatluak Koutgor broke down in tears and shared the extraordinary pain of losing a child suddenly as he prepared to return to Melbourne without his son’s body.

“It is really painful for our whole family, we loved him dearly and to lose a young boy without any sickness or warning we cannot express this feeling,” Mr Koutgor said.

“It was very hard to travel over the holiday period, while everyone is celebrating the new year, we must face life without Yiel.

The Melbourne-based parents of a teen found dead near Alice Springs have begged for answers and justice over his death. Supplied: Mary Riek

“We need answers over who did this, the police are working hard but we want to make sure there is justice.”

On Tuesday afternoon three males aged 21, 20 and 17 from Alice Springs were arrested in relation to Yiel’s death.

No charges have been laid.

Mr Koutgor, Yiel’s mother Nyatut Jock Kaf and his cousin Mark Riek flew to Alice Springs on Wednesday after the teen was identified the previous afternoon, a day after his body was found near Undoolya Station.

Mr Riek said the entire family was devastated by the sudden loss and needed to gather more than $22,000 to meet funeral expenses and relocate his body.

A vigil was held by community members and family at the site where Yiel’s body was found.

“No one is prepared for the death of a young person but after speaking with funeral directors we now face significant costs not only with travelling to the Northern Territory but also getting him back to Melbourne,” Ms Riek said.

“We need help to bring him home, without the funds there is no timeline and we cannot plan the burial and mourn him properly.”

She said her cousin was a caring and friendly young man who loved to play basketball and soccer as a child.

The family met with the NT Chief Minister on Monday afternoon before they planned to return to Victoria on Tuesday.

A GoFundMe, which had raised $3,800 as of Tuesday morning, was established to support the family.