Police run DNA tests on ‘hairs from Theo Hayez’s hat’

Family left surprised by discovery and testing of hairs found on a cap regarded as a ‘significant piece of evidence’ in disappearance of Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez.

Missing backpacker Theo Hayez and (right) CCTV footage of him wearing the Puma cap that is being tested for DNA. Pictures: File

Police are conducting DNA tests on two hairs found on the suspected hat of Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez, eight months after he vanished in Byron Bay.

The discovery and testing of the hairs has taken Hayez’s family by surprise, after they were previously told DNA tests on the Puma cap were inconclusive.

Byron detectives informed Hayez’s family of the hairs and new round of tests this month, it can be revealed.

Family and friends, including Hayez’s godfather Jean-Philippe Pector, strongly believe the cap is Hayez’s and regard it as a significant piece of evidence, as the only item of his clothing recovered.

Theo Hayez (right) is pictured in a Byron Bay bottle shop before he went missing. Picture: File

“Apparently they only decided to test the hairs because they couldn’t get any match with the cap itself,” Mr Pector said.

“I was surprised it’s something that hasn’t been done straight away. It seems so strange they didn’t test those hairs at the same time as the other tests they did.”

Hayez has been missing since walking out of Cheeky Monkey’s bar in Byron’s Jonson Street just after 11pm on Friday, May 31, 2019.

The Australian’s investigative podcast series The Lighthouse ­revealed that after Hayez left the bar, Google recorded the precise location of his mobile phone every 15 seconds.

Hayez’s family gained access to his Google account by resetting his password and were able to trace his apparent movements.

They found that instead of going back to his hostel, Wake Up! at Belongil Beach, Hayez went the opposite way, to Cosy Corner on Tallow Beach near Cape Byron Lighthouse.

Volunteers continuing to search for Hayez after police called off the official search found the Puma cap in bushland next to Tallow Beach more than five weeks after he disappeared.

The hat has the same colour, design and wear and tear as the cap Hayez was wearing the night he vanished. It was located on Hayez’s exact route, as shown by Google.

A previous post on the Looking for Theo Hayez Facebook page said “although no DNA results have been released publicly and may not be for some time, the family is certain it is Theo’s hat”.

A missing person poster for Theo Hayez.

Hayez was 18 and had been in Byron for only a couple of nights when he went missing. He had spent six months in Australia after completing high school and was about to return to Brussels, where he planned to study engineering.

Detectives suspect Hayez fell while trying to climb the lighthouse cliffs and his body washed away, explaining why he has not been found.

Hayez’s family say limited ­information available equally supports other scenarios, including foul play.

Experts say if Hayez was taken away in the strong currents that pass Australia’s most easterly point, he would likely have been swept south of Byron.

Hayez’s parents, Laurent Hayez and Vinciane Delforge, say his movements were highly out of character, especially his walk through dense bushland in the pitch black to get to Tallow Beach.

They believe he was not alone and pleaded for anyone with ­information to come forward.

Tallow Beach is a popular gathering place by day and night for locals and visitors, with Cosy Corner frequently hosting illegal weekend “doof” parties. The homeless also have hidden camps in the bush next to the beach. NSW police have declined to answer any questions about the case.