Suspected human remains found at Little Bay Beach where 18yo Sydney Schoolie Astin Gerstl vanished

Suspected human remains have been found at the Mid-North Coast beach where an 18-year-old school leaver was swept out to sea five days ago.

DAILY TELEGRAPH DECEMBER 2, 2025, Little Bay Beach at Arakoon in the Mid North Coast where a teenager has gone missing while swimming over the weekend. The search continued today. Picture: Shelley Brauer.

Suspected human remains have been found at the Mid-North Coast beach where an 18-year-old school leaver was swept out to sea five days ago.

At about 7.30am on Friday morning police were called to Arakoon’s Little Bay Beach by a member of the public who found the suspected remains.

The remains have been taken for forensic examination.

Astin Gerstl, who attended the prestigious Kings School in Sydney, was last seen struggling to swim in rough conditions off Little Bay Beach on the Mid-North Coast on Sunday at around 4.30pm.

The Kings College student Astin Gerstl, 18, has been missing since Sunday, November 30, when he went swimming at Little Bay Beach near South West Rocks Picture: Supplied

Although friends that he had travelled from Sydney with to celebrate finishing Year 12 and locals attempted to help the distressed teen he disappeared beneath the waves.

Police, surf lifesavers and NSW Marine Rescue mounted an extensive search campaign that ran until Wednesday evening but could find no sign of the missing boy.

A desperate search for an 18-year-old who vanished on a schoolies trip from a Mid-North Coast beach is ongoing despite Marine Rescue calling off their efforts due to “deteriorating offshore conditions”. The teenager, believed to be a student from The King’s School in Sydney, was last seen struggling in the surf at Little Bay Beach in Arakoon shortly before 4.20pm on Sunday (November 30, 2025). NSW Police said emergency services were called to the beach, a picturesque cove usually reserved for wedding photos, after reports the young man had encountered difficulty in the water. Picture: Shelley Brauer.

On Tuesday afternoon his former Kings schoolmates were urged to “hold him in their hearts” in a school-wide letter sent by acting headmaster Stephen Edwards sent a letter to families, which also said “our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this profoundly difficult time”.

Mr Gerstl’s father was seen at the beach on Tuesday making phone calls in the company of another man.

A report on the disappearance is being prepared for the coroner.

Originally published as Suspected human remains found at Little Bay Beach where 18yo Sydney Schoolie Astin Gerstl vanished