Theo Hayez mystery comes to devastating end
The worst fears of Theo Hayez's family have been confirmed as an inquest has declared the 18-year-old Belgian backpacker officially dead.
Theo disappeared on a night out in Byron Bay in 2019, although the inquest did not determine whether his death was the result of an innocent accident or foul play.
The disappearance of the teenager, who was described on Friday by State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan as “a clever, gentle and thoughtful young man” with a “bright future”, prompted a mass volunteer effort from Byron Bay locals as the desperate search for him made headlines around the world.
Despite the mammoth efforts of police and volunteers, nothing was found but Theo's cap.
Hayez’ Australia-based godfather Jean-Philippe Pector was moved to tears as he spoke outside court about the “love” the family had received from the Byron Bay community, which “makes it all bearable”.
After going through the inquest process, he said, “we knew there wouldn’t be any breakthrough.”
O'Sullivan's inquest did note, however, that Hayez's phone indicated he had spent seven minutes at a local area known as the cricket nets, and that he had "veered sharply" off a path near a bush camp.
As a result, she could exclude the theories that Hayez had taken his own life or staged his disappearance, but could not either substantiate or exclude the other two “main competing theories” - that he either died alone trying to climb the Cape Byron headland, or was killed by another person, or persons, who disposed of his body.
Appearing on 60 Minutes last weekend, Theo's devastated mother, Vinciane, opened up on the toll his disappearance has had on her and their family, saying, "I think that we will never know but I hope our situation, our story, is helpful to others."
"If you want to go on living, there is a time when you need to stop. There will always be sadness until the very end of our life but it is healthy to stop searching."
Image credits: 60 Minutes