‘WE’LL NEVER STOP SEARCHING’
With the inquest result handed down, the Belgian backpacker’s loved ones say they still have hope
It’s been three years since he was first reported missing but the October inquest into the disappearance of Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez has provided few answers to his family and failed to give them much-needed closure.
“It hurts strongly not to know what happened, even if what happened is horrible,” Theo’s godfather Jean-philippe Pector tells Woman’s Day exclusively. “We do understand that he is not here any more but we are in a situation of ambiguous loss and that’s the issue. We cannot fully grieve until we know.”
On October 21, State Coroner Teresa O’sullivan concluded the teenager who vanished from Byron Bay on May 31, 2019, was dead but she was unable to determine the cause or manner of his death.
Theo, 18, was last seen at 11pm outside the Cheeky
Monkeys bar. His family reported him missing to police on June 6 when he failed to arrive in Sydney as planned. Theo’s belongings were found at his Byron hostel but he and his phone had disappeared.
After a huge search, police initially concluded Theo was alone and had fallen down the cliff as he tried to climb the Cape Byron headland in the dark and that his body was swept out to sea. But after a digital trail from Theo’s phone data was accessed, the alternate theory that he was killed by someone became hard to ignore.
The coroner said there was “insufficient evidence to substantiate or dismiss either theory” but Ken Gamble, the private investigator who has worked the case since December 2019 is more certain. “I have no doubt Theo met someone and something bad happened as a result of that meeting. There is no other explanation for his movements that night,” Ken tells Woman’s Day.
Theo’s phone data shows he spent seven minutes at the
Byron Bay cricket nets, where Ken believes he met and spoke with someone. Theo then set off on a dark and difficult path to Tallow Beach at a pace that suggested he was following someone who knew the way.
“He was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” says Ken. “He would have felt safe in Byron and gone along with anyone, not sensing any danger.”
The phone belonging to Theo, who was in Australia on a working holiday visa, shows his last movements were at Cosy Corner. This is an area of the beach well known by locals for parties and gatherings.
“It is then a case of whether there was an accident and the people there don’t want to talk to police because there was drug use or whatever. The second option is that there was an intention to harm,” says
Jean-philippe. “We had hoped the inquest would highlight some path of investigation that was not in existence before.”
MOVING FORWARD
Unfortunately, that was not the case, although Ken says credible leads continue to arise every time the story hits the news, meaning Theo’s family are not giving up hope.
“We have been told in missing persons cases it can sometimes take years and years,” says Jean-philippe. “Someone might come forward because it [the secret] becomes too hard to carry or new evidence is found.
“There is also the $500,000 reward money for anyone who gives information that leads to answers and it’s up to us to keep making noise around that.”
Theo’s mother, Vinciane Delforge (pictured left), gave an emotional interview to Nine’s 60 Minutes last month in which she spoke about how she had warned her son to be careful on his travels. When asked how she lives with the not knowing she admitted, “I look to the future and I move forward one step at a time, day by day.”
While Vinciane doesn’t believe Theo will ever come home, she still believes there is a possibility that she and her family may one day know what happened.
“I think that there is still a tiny little window open and because of that there is still some hope.”
The family are grateful for all the support and help given to them by Byron Bay locals over the past three years and the coroner noted the huge response from the community in providing volunteer searchers and support for the Hayez family.
Touchingly, Vinciane told the inquest, “I have lost a child but I have won a family on the other side of the world.”
For now, Theo’s case remains an open verdict, which is how the family wants it.
“We will be on standby until new information comes in,” says Jean-philippe.
“Someone out there knows and we hope they will give us that information.”
‘It hurts not to know what happened to Theo’