Under Investigation: Sept 6

This week Under Investigation delves into the disappearance of 19yo Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez, who went missing in Byron Bay in 2019.

It’s one of the most baffling missing persons cases in recent memory. A young Belgian backpacker, kicked out of a bar in the celebrity tourist town of Byron Bay, wanders off into the night and vanishes without trace. The disappearance of Theo Hayez galvanised a town into action but raised shocking concerns about a seedy underbelly of drugs, alcohol, mental illness, and homelessness which could have contributed to a backpacker’s untimely demise.

18-year-old Theo Hayez was finishing a 6-month backpacking holiday across Australia. He’d spent time staying with his uncle and family in Victoria and his beloved cousins in south-east Queensland before stopping off for several days in Byron Bay. On the night of May 31st, 2019, he accompanied some fellow backpackers to a drinking hotspot called Cheeky Monkey but was asked to leave for appearing intoxicated. He wandered into the night, alone, never to be seen again.

Massive searches for Theo discovered just his beloved abandoned baseball cap lying near a track leading to Byron’s famous Tallow Beach.

Police believed he’d attempted to scale steep cliffs and fallen to his death in raging surf. But startling new digital evidence obtained from his mobile phone records tell a different story and shed incredible new light on the missing backpacker’s final moments.

Under Investigation has put together a stunning jigsaw of Theo’s last night using a “ghost” trail of digital information. It shows every step he took until he stops using his phone. Geo-spatial positioning can now pinpoint his last known locations.

And stunningly 13 hours after he last uses his phone Under Investigation can show his mobile phone moves!

Searching for Theo will rewrite everything we knew about the disappearance of Theo Hayez two years ago providing fresh insights for the Coronial Inquest into his case when it commences in November.

A war table of family and experts will piece together the last movements of Theo Hayez – and much of what they will find will point to the involvement of another person or persons in his disappearance.

8:40pm Monday on Nine.