The mystery surrounding the disappearance of Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez is unlikely to be solved when a coroner delivers her findings.
The 18-year-old was reportedly last seen about 11pm on May 31, 2019 when he was ejected from the Cheeky Monkeys bar in Byron Bay.
Police were alerted six days later, when he failed to return to his hostel and could not be found or contacted.
A large-scale search was launched, with only a hat believed to belong to Theo located.
State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan, who heard weeks of testimony at the inquest into his disappearance, is due to hand down her findings on Friday.
Evidence placed the teen on a steep headland below the town’s famous lighthouse around midnight the day he disappeared.
Theo was tracked, using data gleaned from Google location services and his mobile phone connections, to a local sporting field after being ejected from the bar.
He then charted a route through the Arakwal National Park to the beach below the headland, before the data shows his phone climbing the steep ascent towards the lighthouse, before it stops transmitting.
Police have theorised Theo clambered up the beachside cliffs, dropped his phone then fell and was swept out to sea, something his family says goes against the teen’s sensible, risk-averse nature.
His friends similarly told the inquest Theo was kind and responsible, and didn’t take drugs or drink excessively.
Other theories include that he was disorientated due to intoxication, tracking towards the lighthouse, or trying to find a beach party in Cosy’s Corner with an unidentified person.
Police in February announced a $500,000 reward for anyone with significant information about Theo’s case.
Theo’s mother Vinciane Delforge told the Byron Bay inquest that not knowing what happened to her son means always standing at the door of grief.
“Not knowing is unbearable,” she told the coroner.
“How can we grieve with no body?”
After hearing from her and other relatives, Ms O’Sullivan was overcome with emotion before thanking the family for their incredibly generous and gracious words.
“It is such a privilege for me to hear about him from those who knew and loved him best.”
Undoubtedly, he was “a most incredible and beautiful young man” who was much loved and who loved his family.
© AAP 2022
