Melbourne mum hopes photos could lead to answers after 27yo son’s death

A Melbourne mum is hoping photos on her son’s phone could lead to answers after he died while on a trip to Kazakhstan last year.

A Melbourne mother is hoping photos on her son’s phone could lead to answers after he was found dead on a Kazakhstan mountain last year.

Jake Herd, 27, was found dead near a lake in the Tian Shan Mountains in the central Asian country three days after he was reported missing in May 2023.

Mr Herd was in Kazakhstan on a two-and-a-half-week trip and had set off to hike up the mountains the day before he was due to return home.

Local authorities reported Mr Herd died of hypothermia, with his body discovered at an altitude of about 2,500m.

Jake Herd was found dead in the Tian Shan Mountains last year. Picture: Channel 9

According to local media, Mr Herd – a talented lawyer and aspiring judge – was hiking alone at the time and had been warned not to venture up the mountain in bad weather.

But over a year on from his death, Mr Herd told A Current Affairshe doesn’t believe the media reports.

“They’re basically saying, well, we might as well call him irresponsible,” Wendy Costa told the program on Saturday night.

“He was not irresponsible, he loved life, he did not take life for granted.”

Ms Costa said photos found on Mr Herd’s phone show her son was with other people at the lake.

Other photos depicted him with two men, whom he shared a meal with as they headed up the mountain.

“When I saw the photos, my stomach dropped,” she said.

Ms Costa also said call logs show Mr Herd had made desperate calls for help – even dialling triple-0 – before his death.

Ms Costa said she doesn’t. believe reports her son was hiking alone. Picture: Channel 9

The 27-year-old went hiking the day before he was set to return home. Picture: Channel 9

Ms Costa said police told her the two men in the pictures appeared local.

While she accepts her son died of hypothermia, she is calling for the men to be questioned, sharing they would “definitely” be able to provide answers.

“They were the last to see him, they were the last ones to be with him and see him and speak to him,” she said.

Photos Mr Herd’s phone showed him on the mountain with two others. Picture: Channel 9

Ms Costa told the program she originally didn’t want her son to go on the trip as he had only recently returned home from Europe.

“He said, ‘Oh, mum and dad, I’m going to Kazakhstan’ and I turned around and said, ‘Where is that?’,” Ms Costa recalled.

His parents later received a call from the Australian embassy, telling them their son was missing.

“I just thought he was kidnapped, it never entered my mind that he was gone,” she shared.

Ms Costa recently travelled to Kazakhstan herself in a bid to find answers. But while driving up the mountain to reach the spot where her son lost his life, she discovered the area was blocked off.

Ms Costa recently travelled to Kazakhstan herself. Picture: Channel 9

While there, she told police she wanted the case reopened.

“He told me he closed it because no one came forward and I said to him I did come forward, with photos,” she explained.

Mr Herd’s family have been told the case could be reopened, but a lot of work be required, including sourcing a Russian translator.

“I’m not saying anything untoward did happen but if it did, he would … want the truth to be known,” Mr Herd’s father told the program.

“He deserves that,” said Ms Costa. “We deserve it and so does he”.