Tallis Ahfat: Family suspect foul play in case of missing man in Mount Isa
The family of a 22-year-old man who disappeared in Mount Isa more than 10 weeks ago say they suspect foul play. We reveal why they believe he was killed.
Townsville
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The family of a 22-year-old man who disappeared in Mount Isa more than 10 weeks ago say they suspect foul play.
Tallis Ahfat told his family he was “going bush” around 4.30am on Friday, December 16.
He took off on foot from his family’s home in Miles End while it was still dark with nothing but a didgeridoo and a few clothes he’d packed into a drawstring bag.
His mum Chelsea Ahfa said he’d come into the house that morning with a beer can in hand looking for her, but she had been out working the night shift.
“His brother and their mate had been at home playing video games when Tallis mentioned he wanted to go bush and asked his mate to go with him, but he declined,” she said.
“Tallis walked off by himself. It was the last time our family has laid eyes on him.”
Mrs Ahfat said she got worried when Tallis didn’t show up to work later that day.
She reported him missing on Monday (December 19), and their family started looking around town at places Tallis was known to frequent.
“We searched the Leichhardt River near where we live and showed his picture to some Indigenous people sitting under one of the bridges along there,” she said.
She said some claimed to have seen Tallis at a hangout colloquially known as Dinner Camp that Saturday.
There’s been no sign of Tallis for some 10 weeks, and his family are now starting to dread the worst.
Mrs Ahfat said her son was diagnosed with schizophrenia, but it was seriously out of character for him not to make contact after this long.
“I have to have hope he’s still alive, but his bank accounts haven’t been touched, and he hasn’t reported to Centrelink,” she said.
“I know Tallis, he couldn’t go long without having a bet, beer or smoke.
“He was streetwise but wouldn’t be able to survive for long by himself out bush.”
Mrs Ahfat said her son had struggled with drug use, and she was worried his disappearance was a result of foul play.
“I heard that he did have a debt,” she said.
“I heard he was getting death threats. I’ve heard it all.”
She believes if Tallis had taken his own life, he wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to do so.
When asked if police had ruled out possible foul play, a spokeswoman from Queensland Police Service said: “It is inappropriate to discuss in detail the methodologies of this ongoing investigation at this time”.
“Police in the Northern Region have been actively investigating the disappearance of Tallis Ahfat and employing multiple strategies, including seeking assistance from interstate jurisdictions,” she said.
Tallis is a First Nations man, about 170cm tall, has a proportionate build and dark curly hair with short back and sides.
He has a distinctive star tattoo under his left eye and an Indigenous flag on his left forearm.
Tallis was wearing an orange, black and white polo shirt, black shorts and shoes and a maroon bucket hat.
Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to contact the police immediately.
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Originally published as Tallis Ahfat: Family suspect foul play in case of missing man in Mount Isa
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