Australia Australia - Theo Hayez, 18, Belgian backpacker, Byron Bay, June 2019 #2

[gregjrichards]

Haunting new video of Theo Hayez shows the missing backpacker beaming as he boards a flight days before he vanished in Byron Bay - as family's desperate search continues

Video of Theo Hayez shows him beaming as he boards a flight to Australia days before he vanished | Daily Mail Online

 

[Jenz]

I find no mention at all or any GPS location being provided. The last mention is of a 'phone ping' only.
Do you have a credible source that refers to a confirmed GPS location?

I'd consider the FAQ to be creditable (excepting that location from a ping may be inaccurate wrt direction) :
"
Theo sent a message to a friend at 12.20am on the 1st of June.
Theo’s phone pinged a tower that encompasses the area from Clarkes Beach to the Lighthouse before 2pm on June 1. Police and search groups are searching for Theo’s phone. Other areas besides this have also been extensively searched."

I do recall and have tried to find posts here about Theo opening google maps at cosy corner...
I will keep looking; if someone remembers this and has the links?
Wether that is a valid gps thing or not, i'm unsure?

 

[Deleted member 249471]

An isolated phone ping, as has been suggested before, could be the phone turned back on after being shut down possibly automatically due to low power. It would shut at 5% leaving just enough power to try and start it up and connect before it shuts off again.
That would assume that someone tried to start it.
Remains to be seen whether Theo was at Cosy Corner or not but it seems likely if the cap is genuine. It might be otherwise though and perhaps some focus should be directed elsewhere.

Interesting, I never thought about it that way

I don’t think it’s been revealed that the 1.40pm ping was isolated. In the timeline of events, most refer to it as the 'final' or 'last' ping, never 'the next ping'.

In fact, it’s the ONLY ping mentioned even though phone's ping constantly. It suggests they're not going to list each ping as it doesn’t advance the investigation in any way.

The final ping could've been due to several reasons, none of them requiring a human, and each completely normal in the day to day life of a phone. If the phone didn’t ping for a long period of time, that would still be very normal, even if it had power.

I don’t know… none of the phone info we’ve been given suggests foul play, or reveals anything useful, other than tell us the phone didn't leave Byron while it still had juice in it.

The question is, was Theo with his phone when it had its final ping? Neither of them have been found. Yet he was definitely separated from his cap. How is it that the dark malleable object was found, but not the bright fluro purple phone or Theo himself?

I swing between ‘he couldn’t find the way out and fell into the water with phone’ and ‘there was foul play but he dropped his phone in a well hidden spot within Byron as it happened’. Argh.

 

[Deleted member 249471]

Question for all sleuths:

We’re mostly assuming whatever happened did so during that night after Cheeky Monkey’s.

Let’s imagine for a second that Theo was still well, in Byron and with phone at 1.40pm the next day, but obviously didn’t go back to hostel.

What are some scenarios where whatever happened, happened well after 1.40pm and his phone had no power?

Just trying to think outside the box for a bit…

 

[espirtu pampa]

I do recall and have tried to find posts here about Theo opening google maps at cosy corner...
I will keep looking; if someone remembers this and has the links?
Wether that is a valid gps thing or not, i'm unsure

There are several pictures with dots (GPS) in the first part (closed now) of this thread page 63 to 65. Posts # 1258 ; 278 ; 1297 ; 1300 ; 1301. I don't know if this answers your query. There is also somewhere the video with the belgian Policeman showing the path they have followed. But I am not sure they went to the Cosy Corner beach

 

[Via Marple]

Question for all sleuths:

We’re mostly assuming whatever happened did so during that night after Cheeky Monkey’s.

Let’s imagine for a second that Theo was still well, in Byron and with phone at 1.40pm the next day, but obviously didn’t go back to hostel.

What are some scenarios where whatever happened, happened well after 1.40pm and his phone had no power?

Just trying to think outside the box for a bit…

That assumption would mean for some reason, Theo spent the night, a cold night, out in the open around Cape Byron, not going anywhere even in the morning, when surfers and beachgoers arrived at the beach, or people going up to the lighthouse if he was near that way.

He wouldn't have had anything to eat or drink either.

If he was well, he would have gone back to the hostel, or at least towards Byron CBD, for some relief. The last phone ping would not have remained in the area.

Too hard for me to fathom anything normal happening in the morning!

 

[pheme]

That assumption would mean for some reason, Theo spent the night, a cold night, out in the open around Cape Byron, not going anywhere even in the morning, when surfers and beachgoers arrived at the beach, or people going up to the lighthouse if he was near that way.

He wouldn't have had anything to eat or drink either.

If he was well, he would have gone back to the hostel, or at least towards Byron CBD, for some relief. The last phone ping would not have remained in the area.

Too hard for me to fathom anything normal happening in the morning!

Couldn't he have stayed at someone's house? Stayed up late, crashed there, even eaten there in the morning? (Not saying this is what happened but it definitely wouldn't be the most outlandish suggestion so far!)

 

[Jenz]

There are several pictures with dots (GPS) in the first part (closed now) of this thread page 63 to 65. Posts # 1258 ; 278 ; 1297 ; 1300 ; 1301. I don't know if this answers your query. There is also somewhere the video with the belgian Policeman showing the path they have followed. But I am not sure they went to the Cosy Corner beach

There is, somewhere a dotted map which indicated Theo opened his maps to find route back to the backpackers accomodation. I have looked for that, still can't find it. People who were following this thread...until it got shut down for weeks will remember i'm sure.
That information at the time lead me to believe he took the easiest (according to the maps - less scrub) and headed up the steep grassy area at top of cosy corner. May then have fallen....tides were discussed around this time as well..

That, obviously may never have happened either. Until there is more pieces added to the puzzle, we won't know.

 

[Via Marple]

Couldn't he have stayed at someone's house? Stayed up late, crashed there, even eaten there in the morning? (Not saying this is what happened but it definitely wouldn't be the most outlandish suggestion so far!)

Yes but... Not many houses in the ping area.

 

[BusterXP]

There is also somewhere the video with the belgian Policeman showing the path they have followed. But I am not sure they went to the Cosy Corner beach

One Belgian Police video that was brought forward discussed a search range from CM only and then went on to say that they searched based on that range. There was some confusion as to what was said here. I had the video interpreted by a Belgian friend.

 

[BusterXP]

Also someone in that post put up that the police and family have a timeline of that gps map but will not release it to the public.

If they did then they would not release that information for valid reasons. It's a Police investigation and not a public inquiry.
I'd think that anyone who would openly bring this out to the public is doing so for reasons that does not aid the investigation.
There is and always has been the need to show respect that this is a Police investigation and respect for the family. Individuals that act outside that and release information they claim as fact should be banned IMO.

 

[BusterXP]

Someone called bamboo bungalow says ‘he could have been looking for the doof party that was at tallows that night’. The person then is quite adamant that there was a doof party at tallows that night and that it was common knowledge.

Such parties are common and the possibility that one was on that night was brought up very early. Speculation lead many to map suggested routes heading to Tallow Beach or Cosy Corner.
It's JMO that Theo headed there is probable. I also think that if he did then he would have connected with someone who knows something. There may have been a suggestion a party was on there or there may have been one.

 

[BusterXP]

The final ping could've been due to several reasons, none of them requiring a human, and each completely normal in the day to day life of a phone. If the phone didn’t ping for a long period of time, that would still be very normal, even if it had power.

It would be normal to send location data if Location Services are enabled and the phone was on. It would be normal to do regular checks for email etc if the phone was on and not in Power Savings mode.
It would be normal to regularly check with towers re signal strength to determine the optimal connection if the phone was on.
The phone was active over a substantial time. That phone is power hungry and Google Maps, if used, is a substantial battery drain.

 

[Via Marple]

Looks like an admin of LFTH group has clarified that he does not think the dotted map published by media is entirely accurate. How that conclusion has come about, no one is saying.

 

[BusterXP]

Going back to Google Maps and location history.
I have location services enabled. I don't, however, get detailed maps that report on the route I take. What I get when driving is the reported destinations joined by lines. Those lines are straight from point to point (mostly).
Has anyone checked if this is the same when walking?
The algorithms used to report location changes are known only by Google but it does report when the phone tries to connect to a possible wifi source and also possibly when the movement stops.
I have location history where I've travelled 14 km by car without any intermediate locations being recorded - it's just a straight line from the starting point to that location where I stopped.
I only get a route showing dots when I ask for a suggested route for navigation by walking. I can easily change that route to look like the one posted.
Next question is if a route that is followed is saved? I can't locate any I've followed that has been saved.

 

[srper2]

I have been briefly following Theo's case and unless there was foul play, I believe he must have fallen somewhere around the headland. Every year people are injured or killed trying to walk around the area there. Here is an example: 'Devastated': Mum's heartbreak after son falls down cliff if Theo tried this in the dark while intoxicated, he could easily have followed what appeared to be a walking track, only to find himself stuck on the side of a steep, dangerous cliff after following a goat track. It would be a disaster, nobody would know he was there, he would have to try to get back down and could have fallen a long way onto rocks below. His phone could have been knocked out of a pocket and laid in a rock crevice, pinged the nearby tower, went flat, or the tide came in and washed it, along with Theo out to sea. As for the hat, it was not known if the hat belonged to Theo and there has been no information about testing results, but I hope the exact location of where it was found was recorded, as if it was Theo's (which I doubt), then they need to search above and below that area and also check winds the night he disappeared, to calculate what direction it may have been blown into the bush from.

 

[Via Marple]

I have been briefly following Theo's case and unless there was foul play, I believe he must have fallen somewhere around the headland. Every year people are injured or killed trying to walk around the area there. Here is an example: 'Devastated': Mum's heartbreak after son falls down cliff if Theo tried this in the dark while intoxicated, he could easily have followed what appeared to be a walking track, only to find himself stuck on the side of a steep, dangerous cliff after following a goat track. It would be a disaster, nobody would know he was there, he would have to try to get back down and could have fallen a long way onto rocks below. His phone could have been knocked out of a pocket and laid in a rock crevice, pinged the nearby tower, went flat, or the tide came in and washed it, along with Theo out to sea. As for the hat, it was not known if the hat belonged to Theo and there has been no information about testing results, but I hope the exact location of where it was found was recorded, as if it was Theo's (which I doubt), then they need to search above and below that area and also check winds the night he disappeared, to calculate what direction it may have been blown into the bush from.

The mum in the other case had started a petition :
Warning signage urgently needed at Cape Byron / Cosy Corner goat track | CommunityRun

She made an update 2 months ago. Firstly her son had survived his injuries, so that's good news. Second, as of early June, there still weren't enough signage around the place.

I wonder where exactly that "goat track" is?

The other point you make is interesting - see bolded - I don't seem to see it mentioned anywhere, that the police has returned to that spot to further investigate. They aren't saying what they may be doing at the desk, but if they are on the 'field', that would be noticeable .

Edit to complete the post due to fat fingers

 

[Deleted member 249471]

The mum in the other case had started a petition :
Warning signage urgently needed at Cape Byron / Cosy Corner goat track | CommunityRun

She made an update 2 months ago. Firstly her son had survived his injuries, so that's good news. Second, as of early June, there still weren't enough signage around the place.

I wonder where exactly that "goat track" is?

The other point you make is interesting - see bolded - I don't seem to see it mentioned anywhere, that the police has returned to that spot to further investigate. They aren't saying what they may be doing at the desk, but if they are on the 'field', that would be noticeable .

Edit to complete the post due to fat fingers

So true. After finding the hat, police didn’t appear to go out in force to that spot to do a thorough search of the surrounds.

 

[srper2]

The mum in the other case had started a petition :
Warning signage urgently needed at Cape Byron / Cosy Corner goat track | CommunityRun

She made an update 2 months ago. Firstly her son had survived his injuries, so that's good news. Second, as of early June, there still weren't enough signage around the place.

I wonder where exactly that "goat track" is?

The other point you make is interesting - see bolded - I don't seem to see it mentioned anywhere, that the police has returned to that spot to further investigate. They aren't saying what they may be doing at the desk, but if they are on the 'field', that would be noticeable .

Edit to complete the post due to fat fingers

There used to be wild goats roaming the cliffs there, which were removed a few years ago, but other animals continue to use the well-worn goat tracks, which can be easily mistaken for a walking track and lead people into dangerous areas which they cannot get back down from. There are also tracks leading from fenced areas, where tourists climb through and go to the edge of cliffs for selfies and to muck around. In the dark, if one of these was followed, it could result in sliding down the cliff onto the rocks far below. If Theo fell onto the rocks and was washed away, he could have been washed north, south or out to sea, depending on the direction of the wild currents at the time. If he did fall and get washed away, his body may very likely never be found. I hope Theo's dad gets help with boats to search closely along the rocks at the bottom of the cliffs around the cape and north and south of the cape if the weather permits. Local fishermen could assist with trying to predict where the currents could end up sweeping a body.

 

[Jenz]

There used to be wild goats roaming the cliffs there, which were removed a few years ago, but other animals continue to use the well-worn goat tracks, which can be easily mistaken for a walking track and lead people into dangerous areas which they cannot get back down from. There are also tracks leading from fenced areas, where tourists climb through and go to the edge of cliffs for selfies and to muck around. In the dark, if one of these was followed, it could result in sliding down the cliff onto the rocks far below. If Theo fell onto the rocks and was washed away, he could have been washed north, south or out to sea, depending on the direction of the wild currents at the time. If he did fall and get washed away, his body may very likely never be found. I hope Theo's dad gets help with boats to search closely along the rocks at the bottom of the cliffs around the cape and north and south of the cape if the weather permits. Local fishermen could assist with trying to predict where the currents could end up sweeping a body.

This was the current map for 1st June.