Homicide, missing persons squad helping with investigations

It doesn’t matter if you are truckie, a tourist or a passenger in a stolen car. If you were near Noccundra from October 16-19 then police want to speak to you.

Police say they are not aware of any tensions between Jeremiah Rivers and the six people he was travelling with before he vanished in the desert south of Noccundra on October 18.

However, police are still treating his disappearance as suspicious.

Southern Regional Crime Coordinator Detective Acting Superintendent Stephen Blanchfield said police had interviewed four of the six.

“We are looking at what they have told us and evidence that can support what they are saying,” he said.

Police allege Mr Rivers and his associates entered Queensland from NSW without a valid Covid border pass and that may be why they did not report him missing sooner.

Supt Blanchfield called on anyone who was in the Wippo Creek-Noccundra area from October 16-19 to make contact with their local police station.

Queensland police continue to investigate the suspicious disappearance of 27-year-old Jeremiah Rivers.

Mr Rivers was wearing a pair of bright red sneakers and a black and red Chicago Bulls basketball singlet when he disappeared.

The appeal extended to a group of people who were spotted in a white Ford Focus (Qld rego 600SZJ) that was stolen from Landsborough the day before Mr Rivers went missing.

It was involved in fuel drive-offs at a service station on Murilla Street in Miles between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on October 18 and at a Stafford Street service station in Thargomindah on October 19 about 11.50am.

While there is no indication the occupants had direct contact with Mr Rivers and his associates, police suspect that they were in the area when he disappeared.

“That is of interest to us because (travelling to Thargomindah) is an unusual thing for a vehicle stolen from the Sunshine Coast,” he said.

Acting Superintendent Stephen Blanchfield hopes a member of the public will recognise the red sneakers and black singlet that Jeremiah Rivers was wearing the day he disappeared.

It is understood Mr River and his cousin met the five other individuals through footage in the weeks before he disappeared and they bonded over a mutual love of outback hunting.

Supt Blanchfield said the group had stopped near Noccundra to hunt while Mr Rivers and his cousin travelled home to the Northern Territory.

Jeremiah’s mum, Joanne Rivers, has made a plea for information about her son’s disappearance.“ (Jayo) is one of eight siblings and is loved and cherished by a large extended family,” she said.

“He is an outgoing young man and … it is out of character for Jayo not to contact his family. We are very concerned about this situation.”