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

[Rocket333]

It was suspected there were other WhatsApp messages. That's why the family sought help with records and messages.

Do you have more info on why it is suspected there were more WA messages?

 

[Rocket333]

According to the 1st Podcast, the hostel's shuttle bus stopped at the Tourist Information Centre at Jonson Str.
That is where Theo and the other youngsters stepped out.
From there it's a 5 minute walk to CM, due South. They did not step out of the bus in front of CM.

Location of the Info. Centre:
Contact Us - Byron Bay Visitor Information Centre

I still believe that Theo knew how to walk back to his hostel, and that he would have had to follow Jonson Str. Northbound, in the direction of the Info. Centre and beyond.
Instead of turning South and East.

I think he chose his direction knowingly too. Byron isn’t that complicated if you can orientate yourself to Jonson Street. I think he was just going to the beach to continue having fun, and was keeping an eye on where he was in relation to home all the time. I think the “who and why” lies in his activity in CMs.

 

[Rocket333]

It’s such a rugged (and beautiful) space.

 

[Rocket333]

It’s such a rugged (and beautiful) space.

 

[feralflower]

Another big question. WHY was GPS mapping switched off at 12.05 when phone reached Cosy Corner? You have to go into settings for this. Why even bother? Then last ping next day at 1.42 pm is said to have been from the Paterson St tower so it is very likely the phone's trip did not end at Cosy, just tracking stopped there. I don't understand why go to trouble of switching off the GPS unless of course you don't want to be tracked? So why did whoever had the phone not wish to be tracked further? This points to someone else being on the phone. Now if something bad happened to get rid of phone makes sense but just maybe they wanted to keep it especially if this is what they were after. Not sure how people get around using phones which have been stolen but the fact that phones are a target to thieves tells me they have ways around this. Phones are targeted frequently in Byron. It was a nice new phone and to someone on the streets may have been like silver to a magpie and we know Theo was using it as he walked out of Cheeky's and possibly all the way down Tennyson. Now another interesting point is when he got to end of Tennyson no one has mentioned any phone usage, texts etc. while he was there. Would think if he was waiting there on his own would be using his phone to kill time. So am guessing he was not on his own once he got there, was occupied either talking or perhaps ran into thugs there.

 

[bearbear]

According to the 2nd Podcast:
- it was freezing cold that night (so Theo wouldn't have gone for a swim)
- the Milne track was searched on June 10th
- google shows Theo was 'running' from the sportsfield up to cosy corner
- at 00:05 GPS tracking stopped
- at 00:56 Theo sent his last message: a WA message, of which the content is unknown*
- Theo's phone was in sleep mode from 2 to 6 am
- an indigenous ceremony at Tallows is mentioned (when was did it take place?)
- the majority of surfers at the time of the podcast interview was Brasilian
- there is a local rumour about what might have happened to Theo

* surely the receiver must be known? And: there must be ways to decrypt WA messages

is it possible to say what is the local rumour about what may have happened?
sorry if this is against ws tos

 

[sparks030405]

Has it been confirmed if the two girls Theo arrived at CM with met with him after he got kicked out?

Theo’s responses to friends on Facebook pre Australia trip seemed often very brief, so perhaps normal for him to send short replies just to stay in contact.

I think CM is more for tourists than local couples, so am thinking he was dancing with backpacker girls, and went with them or other backpackers to CC.

Maybe they were staying near Tennyson and returned that way, while Theo made a bad call and on his own, tried to go around the lighthouse cliffs.

These foreign backpacker kids would have all moved on by the time news of Theo’s disappearance was raised. Hopefully through social media links the family will be able to confirm he was with some others at CC and that they then went their separate ways. Generally they seem to not read or follow the mainstream news esp. international news, and neither do their parents probably.

All the other scenarios/theories just seem to be so unlikely to have happened IMOO.

The turkey scrub would have freaked them out a bit, plus possible homeless camps, which would explain eagerness to make a bee-line for the beach to just get that experience out of the way.

Maybe GPS gets turned off if you change your phone to Low Power Mode to conserve battery.

I have said it before, I have climbed over those Byron Bay coastal rocks many times and they are sharp, rough, steep, difficult, slippery, dangerous and there are lots of great white sharks constantly going past. Any bleeding after falling into water (conscious or unconscious) and with the waves hitting the rocks at low tide, I just think that’s the most sensible scenario at the moment.

 

[feralflower]

Byron Bay local finds bloody stick and strange writing in the dunes after Theo Hayez disappeared | Daily Mail Online

 

[bearbear]

never mind regarding local rumour, i managed to listen to the podcast, it wasnt specified in the interview with the local

 

[sparks030405]

Byron Bay local finds bloody stick and strange writing in the dunes after Theo Hayez disappeared | Daily Mail Online

Geez. Well that's thrown out my theory, Again! Baffling. I wonder if this will be discussed in the third podcast. Not a good idea to walk through the bedrooms of sleeping Arakwal people and/or homeless squatter camps of Byron Bay! If Theo is known to be sensible, would he walk through bushland in the dark in a foreign country? Seems like a very risky and unsafe thing to do on your own.

 

[Watergate]

This is a hard read.
Chilling, bloody clue discovered on beach

 

[Chiatos]

Why keep google mapping the address then and going the opposite way?

That's the big question. Also: at what point did he start google mapping the address? Was it before or after Tennyson?
Exiting CM he should have known the right direction to his hostel.
(If not, then something must have gone terribly wrong inside CM)

 

[T-dawg420]

Just in regards to the last ping being at 1:42pm the next day from the Paterson st tower. If you get the map open of the tower locations in Byron bay, the Paterson st tower location is on the lighthouse Rd end of Paterson st. If you look the Tennyson st scrubland where the camps are, the scrub extends past cowper to massinger. I wonder if that tower picks up the signal from that scrubland?

Could fit with a narrative that feralflower asked about, with the gps tracking being turned off at cosy corner and the journey of the phone continuing from there.

I’m not sure if something happened around Tennyson, or whether Theo was with the phone at cosy corner. If the tracking was turned off for the reason of not wanting to be tracked, and the phone journey continued. It could have gone back to the scrubland (someone had a camp there?) and phone been turned on next day at 1:42pm?

Just interesting with that story dropping today of the blood stained stick being found at Clarke’s beach. Not a hard trip to go from the scrubland around Tennyson /Cowper/massinger to Clarke’s, and the last phone ping being at Paterson st (if that’s where it was?)

 

[Chiatos]

Another big question. WHY was GPS mapping switched off at 12.05 when phone reached Cosy Corner? You have to go into settings for this. Why even bother? Then last ping next day at 1.42 pm is said to have been from the Paterson St tower so it is very likely the phone's trip did not end at Cosy, just tracking stopped there. I don't understand why go to trouble of switching off the GPS unless of course you don't want to be tracked? So why did whoever had the phone not wish to be tracked further? This points to someone else being on the phone. Now if something bad happened to get rid of phone makes sense but just maybe they wanted to keep it especially if this is what they were after. Not sure how people get around using phones which have been stolen but the fact that phones are a target to thieves tells me they have ways around this. Phones are targeted frequently in Byron. It was a nice new phone and to someone on the streets may have been like silver to a magpie and we know Theo was using it as he walked out of Cheeky's and possibly all the way down Tennyson. Now another interesting point is when he got to end of Tennyson no one has mentioned any phone usage, texts etc. while he was there. Would think if he was waiting there on his own would be using his phone to kill time. So am guessing he was not on his own once he got there, was occupied either talking or perhaps ran into thugs there.

I also ask myself: the phone was in sleep mode from 2am to 6am. In what mode was the phone after 6am?

 

[Chiatos]

Byron Bay local finds bloody stick and strange writing in the dunes after Theo Hayez disappeared | Daily Mail Online

The shape of the club/stick resembles that of a samurai sword. Aboriginal clubs have a different shape?

And: why such an indifferent attitude by police?

 

[feralflower]

I also ask myself: the phone was in sleep mode from 2am to 6am. In what mode was the phone after 6am?

Yes I wonder the same, I did read somewhere that the phone was believed to be in sleep mode next day at 1.42pm when it pinged but am confused as to why sleep mode is specified between these hours 2 - 6 am.

 

[BusterXP]

I also ask myself: the phone was in sleep mode from 2am to 6am. In what mode was the phone after 6am?

I think the use of the term 'sleep mode' is misleading. 'Sleep' is a Windows term.
You can vary the settings but Android goes into Power Savings Mode, with a lot of services shut down, at 15% battery. It will shut off at 5% battery.
It's possibly to restart it after it's shut off but it won't last long without being plugged in. There's that last ping if an attempt was made to restart it.

 

[sparks030405]

Byron Bay local finds bloody stick and strange writing in the dunes after Theo Hayez disappeared | Daily Mail Online

Oddly no discussion yet on the Facebook Groups about the news today re bloodied stick. Maybe a Timezone thing as many are from os. It looks like a solid clue.

Wondering about this cult idea of Theo’s Dad, or just gang of thieves? They send in a girl to flirt with Theo, or started chatting online and then met at CM, then directed by WhatsApp message to quiet area off Tennyson St / BB Recreational Grounds (shipping container/cricket nets area) where he is taken in car after being knocked out. Or gang member pretends to be a girl on dating app to lure him. Could pretend to threaten the girl (if part of gang or cult) or Theo himself unless he provides code to unlock his phone.

I keep following this case hoping Theo is alive, either abducted or in hiding. Surely these days you aren’t that desperate for a mobile phone or money that you violently attack an innocent person? Can only think you would if on heavy drugs and psychotic, which unfortunately seems to be the case for some homeless campers in Byron

 

[Chiatos]

Theo kidnapped?
Caller claims Theo Hayez kidnapped, demands $300,000 Bitcoin ransom
There was no evidence to support kidnapping and the claims were dismissed as false. The messages are detailed in a new episode of The Australian’s investigative podcast series The Lighthouse, to be released on Friday.
NoCookies | The Australian

 

[mussopossum]

Theo kidnapped?
Caller claims Theo Hayez kidnapped, demands $300,000 Bitcoin ransom
There was no evidence to support kidnapping and the claims were dismissed as false. The messages are detailed in a new episode of The Australian’s investigative podcast series The Lighthouse, to be released on Friday.
NoCookies | The Australian

At least this connects the dots with this back then now.

Theo Hayez parents believe he is still alive and may be a prisoner in a Byron Bay commune | Daily Mail Online