Coroner to probe mystery of missing man Jeremiah Rivers

Scammers cruelly claimed to have kidnapped missing man Jeremiah Rivers for ransom as his family desperately searched for him, while his disappearance was not reported for up to 24 hours, an inquest has heard. Here’s why.

International scammers cruelly claimed to have kidnapped missing man Jeremiah Rivers for ransom as his family spent months desperately combing the remote outback for clues about his disappearance.

Mr Rivers, known to loved ones as Jayo, was last seen at a campsite at Wippo Creek, near Noccundra in South West Queensland on October 18, 2021.

A pre-inquest conference on Tuesday heard the search for Mr Rivers was delayed by up to 24 hours because members of his travelling party hesitated to report the disappearance to police because they had allegedly entered into Queensland in violation of pandemic restrictions.

Despite extensive searches by police and family, Mr Rivers, who was aged 27 when he went missing, has never been found and he is now presumed dead.

Jeremiah ‘Jayo’ Rivers.

Counsel assisting the coroner Sarah Lio-Willie said Kimberley man Mr Rivers and his kinship brother Joe Joe Kantilla-Gaden had been living in the New South Wales town of Balranald playing for the local AFL club for about six months.

At the end of the football season in October 2021, the pair made plans to return home to the Northern Territory.

A friend from Balranald, Matthew Moore, arranged for them to hitch a ride with himself and a group of Victorian men who were going on an interstate pig hunting trip – Travis Clare, Dylan Thomas, Joel McMaster and Kane Toohey.

The group travelled in two cars, hauling two quad bikes, an ATV, camping and hunting gear and three pig dogs.

“Mr Clare’s group were excited to be joined by the two men because they said they were going to teach the group about their customs and traditional hunting methods,” Ms Lio-Willie said.

“At the time of this trip there were Covid-19 border restrictions into Queensland.

“In the southwest corner of Queensland there were physical fence lines and border gates that were padlocked to enforce the restrictions.”

The court heard during the drive north, Mr Rivers and Mr Kantilla-Gaden drank VB beer and smoked methylamphetamine.

Queensland police continue to investigate the suspicious disappearance of 27-year-old Jeremiah Rivers as footage is released to locate occupants of a vehicle believed to have been travelling near Noccundra.

The group arrived at the Wippo Creek campground about 7am on October 18.

“Sometime after arriving at Wippo Creek and setting up camp, Jayo walked off from the campsite,” Ms Lio-Willie said.

“He walked past Mr Toohey throwing out yabby pots at a waterhole and told him he wanted to go swimming but he wanted to look for clearer water and he walked off.

“This is the last known time anyone saw Jayo.”

The court heard after his friend did not return, Mr Kantilla-Gaden went looking for him.

“He told the rest of the travelling group not to call police to report him missing because they were all illegally in Queensland during the Covid-19 restrictions and were afraid of potentially being subject to a $66,000 fine,” Ms Lio-Willie said.

The following day, police were investigating reports about the presence of the one of the party’s vehicles being present in Noccundra when they intercepted Mr Moore and Mr Kantilla-Gaden.

The court heard the pair did not reveal they were camping nearby or that there were more people in their travelling group, telling the officer they were trying to get back to New South Wales but the border gate was locked.

“It was then that they informed police they had not seen Jayo since the morning before,” Ms Lio-Willie said.

“(The) Senior Constable … escorted the pair to the border and said to call police when they got back into mobile phone reception if they had not heard from Jayo.”

At about 3pm that day, Mr Moore rang the Cunnamulla Police Station to report Jayo as a missing person and a search began immediately.

The rest of the travelling group were intercepted by police shortly after 9pm that night. No charges were laid.

“An extensive search was conducted over the proceeding five days and utilised police officers, police divers, SES volunteers, local volunteers, aircrafts, thermal imaging, ATVs, and trail bikes,” Ms Lio-Willie said.

The search for Jeremiah Rivers.

The search was suspended before Mr Rivers’ family arrived to help on October 24.

“Jayo’s family identified a spiritual calling towards Wilson River in Noccundra and believed he was in this area,” the court heard.

The search was reactivated for a further three days but no clues were found.

“The search located no signs of human remains or any disturbed dirt to identify any foul play,” Ms Lio-Willie said.

“A time frame for survival, in this remote location, without water was estimated to be seven days and with water was 23 days.

“The search was terminated on the basis that if Jayo was lost, there was no likelihood of him being alive.”

A forensic examination of the vehicles and property seized from the travelling group “yielded negative results on any signs of trauma or foul play” and cadaver dogs deployed in April 2022 found nothing.

“Given the rural location, the atmospheric conditions, and potential predators in the surrounding areas, it is suspected Jayo has passed,” Ms Lio-Willie told the inquest.

Mr Rivers’ family conducted their own searches of the area and have spearheaded a missing persons campaign in a search for answers.

The family of missing man Jeremiah Rivers searched for him from "sunrise to sunset" in the wake of his disappearance.

Possible sightings of Mr Rivers have been reported at Logan, Charleville, Tweed Heads, Cairns and Ravenshoe but have all been deemed as either mistaken, untrue, or incapable of being verified.

“The Rivers’ family has unfortunately also been subject to scammers claiming they kidnapped Jayo and were holding him for ransom,” Ms Lio-Willie said.

“The police investigation into this identified the sender of the messages was from overseas and was an attempt to exploit the family for money.”

A psychic medium provided police with potential search locations but the court heard that had not yielded any results.

“To this day Jayo’s family do not know what happened to him,” Ms Lio-Willie said.

“And despite the police investigation and public appeal, there are still no answers, nor any new leads to help get to the truth of what happened to Jayo, or if anyone else was involved in his disappearance and suspected passing.

“The fundamental task for this inquest is to identify, if possible, what happened to Jayo.”

A five-day inquest into Mr Rivers’ disappearance will be held in November this year before Coroner Donald MacKenzie.

Fifteen witnesses, including the six members of the travelling party, are expected to be called to give evidence.

Originally published as Coroner to probe mystery of missing man Jeremiah Rivers