Family knows son is dead Inquest on lost Isa man
A CORONER will try to determine what happened to a missing Mount Isa teen who is believed to have been killed on a remote cattle station.
Northern Coroner Jane Bentley will consider the circumstances of Kyle Jack Coleman’s disappearance last year, with the first pre- inquest conference scheduled to be conducted in Cairns on August 26.
Kyle’s family have never given up hope of finding their loved one but have no doubt that he is dead.
They pushed for the inquest to be heard as soon as possible.
In May, Kyle’s father Rob Coleman told the Bulletin that he believed an inquest could finally provide them answers to their many questions.
Mr Coleman said he was pleased the inquest would be starting soon. “It’s our best hope,” he said. Kyle, 17, and his friend, James Coleman ( no relation), had travelled northwest from Mount Isa to go camping and hunting on Undilla Station.
The teenager was last seen alive at the remote station on February 21 last year.
He was reported missing the following day by James, who told police Kyle had left his Skewes St house in Soldiers Hill to walk the 3km to his Parkside home.
But Kyle never made it home and, just days later, James was found dead at the Skewes St address. A massive land and air search, covering hundreds of square kilometres, failed to find any trace of Kyle.
The search was eventually called off and a report was compiled for the coroner.
The Coleman family continued their search, with Mr Coleman finding what he believed to be remnants of his son’s swag and doona, parts of his watch and buckles from his backpack on burnt ground at Undilla Station.
He says he has come to terms with the fact his son is most likely dead, but hopes to find his remains and give him a proper burial.
Mr Coleman also wants to find some answers for James’s family, saying the two boys were great mates.
The community rallied behind the family in the days, weeks and months after Kyle’s disappearance.
A Facebook page set up to help find Kyle has been “liked” by more than 21,000 people.
Kyle would have turned 18 last September.