Missing backpacker’s family deny police claims he fell into the ocean
The family of missing backpacker Theo Hayez don’t believe a police theory that the Belgian fell into the ocean at Byron Bay.
Mr Hayez, 18, went missing after leaving The Cheeky Monkey nightclub in Byron Bay on May 31 about 11pm.
The teen hasn’t been found after months of searching.
Mr Hayez’s godfather Jean-Philippe Pector told the ABC police believe he may have fallen into the water on leaving the nightclub after trying to find his way back to Wake Up! hostel.
Mr Pector said police believe the teen may have gone to Cosy Corner, which is at the north of Tallow Beach, walked up to the lighthouse and fallen from the cliffs into the ocean.
"We believe that scenario is not likely, especially the fact that Theo would have been alone, without meeting anyone,” he told the ABC.
However, the family said this is not the only line of enquiry police are looking at. The search for Mr Hayez ended in September.
The Belgian’s parents told The Australian in September the family believes he had company when he disappeared.
“We believe that Theo was not alone on the night that he disappeared and that sooner or later somebody must speak out,” his parents told The Australian in a joint statement.
They added the area where the teen went missing was isolated and not easily accessible. They believe the backpacker was with someone who knew the area.
Mr Hayez’s cousin Micheal Dorkhom told The Lighthouse podcast data from the Belgian’s phone showed he was using Google Maps to find his way back to the hostel on the night he vanished.
Google Timeline logs showed Theo walked away from the main street of town, turning from Johnson St down Kingsley St into a dark, quiet, residential area.
“This is already quite odd because he is someone who doesn't know the area well and he had only been there for a couple of days, why would he go that way?” Mr Dorkhom said on the podcast.
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Google logs also show Theo made his way through more residential streets before arriving at the Milne Track, which is an access track through bushland to Tallows Beach.
Theo followed the Milne Track and battled through thick bushland at midnight before reaching the sand at Tallows.
His phone signal shut off when he reached Cozy Corner at the northern end of Tallows beneath the cliff under the lighthouse.
A red line on his data track also suggests Theo had been running from the Recreational Grounds all the way to Cozy Corner.
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