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

[Aron.Wor]

Running ... oh my Has it been said where he was seen running?

Intoxicated young man running in unfamiliar neighborhood in the middle of the night with water nearby .... Maybe he lost the phone before he fell in the water somewhere jmo

the street is not that close to the water. From the street, he'd reach the hostel before the beach.

 

[SouthAussie]

I wonder if they think they'll find anything. I guess they must, but the most eastern point of Australia has some pretty wild currents. I imagine there would not be much to find.

If he was running, I guess there are two plausible reasons. He was late to a meeting, or he was running from someone. The guy coming home that saw him didn't mention any cries for help or find any reason to raise alarm. Obviously, his behaviour didn't demonstrate panic or fear, according to the witness. So one would imagine he was running to something, if for any particular reason.

I think the resident might have thought twice now about Theo running ..... "I wish I could have helped him".

Perhaps Theo's running (and perhaps being chased/followed?) was initially thought to be typical drunken Byron Bay antics (they say the residents are used to it, and tired of it) - but on reflection it could have been something more, now that he knows Theo went missing that night.

Mind you, he could have been running because it was a cold 5C that night. Not a nice night for walking, or sitting at the lighthouse waiting for the sunrise.

 

[SouthAussie]

the street is not that close to the water. From the street, he'd reach the hostel before the beach.

Yes, it is quite a bit away from the water. When I was Google walking - backtracking from the Wake Up hostel until I could find the same kind of scenery in the video - I could see how far Theo had to walk. It is not a short distance at all.

Couldn't see him running all the way to the hostel either, from the 'seen' position on Shirley Street. It is still a bit of a hike to the hostel.

Not sure how developed that area is now. Those connecting side streets from Shirley Street to the hostel only have houses on one side of the street in the Google-walk screens. And open land on the other side. Kinda desolate late at night, I would think.

 

[Via Marple]

I have been Google walking the area - using the video screenshot as a guide.
It looks to me that Theo was seen running on Shirley Street, close-ish to and on the same side of the street as the Woolworths Caltex. Across the road from the Mango Tree apartments.
There is a block of units (well, 4 letter boxes together) and it looks like that is the part of the footpath that was shown.

I wonder (again!!) what is on the CCTV from the Caltex station. If Theo was being followed or chased, the CCTV should have caught that.

It looks like Shirley Street. The footpath, the amount of traffic. I just looked up an email from years ago. I stayed at 44 Shirley Street for a few nights, in August that year.

Mango Tree apartments are to the west of Aloha though ... So he might not have turned into Dryden St after all?

I think the resident might have thought twice now about Theo running ..... "I wish I could have helped him".

Perhaps Theo's running (and perhaps being chased/followed?) was initially thought to be typical drunken Byron Bay antics (they say the residents are used to it, and tired of it) - but on reflection it could have been something more, now that he knows Theo went missing that night.

Mind you, he could have been running because it was a cold 5C that night. Not a nice night for walking, or sitting at the lighthouse waiting for the sunrise.

It would certainly be cold for me. But he's from Belgium, so I don't know if he felt the same way!

 

[Nebula]

I have been Google walking the area - using the video screenshot as a guide.
It looks to me that Theo was seen running on Shirley Street, close-ish to and on the same side of the street as the Woolworths Caltex. Across the road from the Mango Tree apartments.
There is a block of units (well, 4 letter boxes together) and it looks like that is the part of the footpath that was shown.

I wonder (again!!) what is on the CCTV from the Caltex station. If Theo was being followed or chased, the CCTV should have caught that.

Surely the Caltex surveillance cameras would have something if he went passed. Service stations have cameras everywhere. I see that he possibly passed two Caltex service stations. There is one on Butler Street, just before Shirley Street, about 10min walk from the Cheeky Monkey bar, and a second Caltex near the corner of Shirley and Kendall. Would he have passed both?

 

[Micheline]

I wonder if they think they'll find anything. I guess they must, but the most eastern point of Australia has some pretty wild currents. I imagine there would not be much to find.

If he was running, I guess there are two plausible reasons. He was late to a meeting, or he was running from someone. The guy coming home that saw him didn't mention any cries for help or find any reason to raise alarm. Obviously, his behaviour didn't demonstrate panic or fear, according to the witness. So one would imagine he was running to something, if for any particular reason.

Maybe he got into an argument with someone at the bar, both were asked to leave, maybe the other a bit later, and Theo not wanting a confrontation?

 

[SouthAussie]

It would certainly be cold for me. But he's from Belgium, so I don't know if he felt the same way!

Yes, I am sure he can tolerate colder temps than most Aussies. But after a while the cold sets in. He had been out there for a while already. His hands would have been cold, his nose would have been cold, his ears would have been cold (with just a cap on his head). Though he did have a hoodie on, so that probably helped.

I lived in a very cold area overseas for a lot of years. Just leaning on my own experience with that. Everything is centrally heated in those climates. Still feels nippy outside if you are outside for any great length of time at night. Can't see him sitting at the lighthouse for hours ... walking home I can see.

 

[Micheline]

I think the resident might have thought twice now about Theo running ..... "I wish I could have helped him".

Perhaps Theo's running (and perhaps being chased/followed?) was initially thought to be typical drunken Byron Bay antics (they say the residents are used to it, and tired of it) - but on reflection it could have been something more, now that he knows Theo went missing that night.

Mind you, he could have been running because it was a cold 5C that night. Not a nice night for walking, or sitting at the lighthouse waiting for the sunrise.

I live in a country where it is 5C often.
No one goes running because of cold weather.

 

[SouthAussie]

I live in a country where it is 5C often.
No one goes running because of cold weather.

No worries. We are all entitled to our own opinions, based on our own experiences.

 

[Micheline]

No worries. We are all entitled to our own opinions, based on our own experiences.

It wasn't an opinion.
Just trying to help.

BTW, how do you read the version of Théo's friend, was he too asked to leave the bar? TIA

 

[Aron.Wor]

Well, he runs, then he pauses and walks again to look at his phone in the last CCTV images. He doesn't seem like a frantic person in those last images.

 

[Aron.Wor]

Well, he runs, then he pauses and walks again to look at his phone in the last CCTV images. He doesn't seem like a frantic person in those last images.

I imagine the witnesses comment to I wish I could of helped him is just hindsight and the fact that Theo is missing.

 

[Nebula]

It wasn't an opinion.
Just trying to help.

BTW, how do you read the version of Théo's friend, was he too asked to leave the bar? TIA

No, the friend didn't leave the bar at the same time. He says in one of the interviews that a group of people from the hostel went to the bar. It wasn't just the two of them. Theo was kicked out.

 

[SouthAussie]

It wasn't an opinion.
Just trying to help.

BTW, how do you read the version of Théo's friend, was he too asked to leave the bar? TIA

I am in two minds about that. I cant quite work out if he means that he himself was asked to leave after an hour (an hour after Theo left?) - or if he means that Theo was asked to leave after Theo had been there an hour.

His use of the English language is not yet complete, so I am struggling with that one.

 

[SouthAussie]

Well, he runs, then he pauses and walks again to look at his phone in the last CCTV images. He doesn't seem like a frantic person in those last images.

See, that's what confuses me. Have we seen last CCTV images? Images after he was seen running on (presumably) Shirley Street?

From what I can tell there is the video of Theo and his friend in the bottle shop, then the video of Theo outside Cheeky Monkey's - where he quickly avoids a street sign.

"CCTV shows missing teen Theo Hayez outside Cheeky Monkeys in Byron Bay"
Missing teen Theo Hayez

Is there other CCTV that I have missed? I have been looking and looking but I can't find anything else.

 

[Intriguedbymissingpersons]

Unless frantically running (and looking back etc) I personally wouldn’t read to much into it.

At 18 friends and I were known to run home from the pub especially if cold (in Victoria so freezing)- why walk 20mins if I could be home in 10? He is a young, fittish guy ... running a kilometre home wouldn’t have been difficult and would be a way to stay warm.

The rumours saying he has done a runner and is staying invisible I truely don’t believe. He has either met with foul play or is somewhere requiring help. JMO

 

[Nebula]

No, the friend didn't leave the bar at the same time. He says in one of the interviews that a group of people from the hostel went to the bar. It wasn't just the two of them. Theo was kicked out.

"We went out together after leaving the hostel and we arrived with some other people from the hostel and then everyone talked with other people," Mr Van Laethem said.

"I didn't see him leaving before me, I don't know when he left the bar before us. An hour later he was kicked out of Cheeky Monkeys.

"I can't tell what time I last saw him, we came together to Cheeky Monkeys but I didn't see him leaving the pub, maybe before 11pm.

"I sent him a message the day after but he never answered and six days later his cousin sent me and told me he'd gone missing for about a week."

I believe he's talking about Theo when he says "An hour later he was kicked out of Cheeky Monkeys".

'I feel worried about him... it's the worst thing'

 

[Nebula]

See, that's what confuses me. Have we seen last CCTV images? Images after he was seen running on (presumably) Shirley Street?

From what I can tell there is the video of Theo and his friend in the bottle shop, then the video of Theo outside Cheeky Monkey's - where he quickly avoids a street sign.

"CCTV shows missing teen Theo Hayez outside Cheeky Monkeys in Byron Bay"
Missing teen Theo Hayez

Is there other CCTV that I have missed? I have been looking and looking but I can't find anything else.

I haven't seen any other CCTV footage.

 

[SouthAussie]

"We went out together after leaving the hostel and we arrived with some other people from the hostel and then everyone talked with other people," Mr Van Laethem said.

"I didn't see him leaving before me, I don't know when he left the bar before us. An hour later he was kicked out of Cheeky Monkeys.

"I can't tell what time I last saw him, we came together to Cheeky Monkeys but I didn't see him leaving the pub, maybe before 11pm.

"I sent him a message the day after but he never answered and six days later his cousin sent me and told me he'd gone missing for about a week."

I believe he's talking about Theo when he says "An hour later he was kicked out of Cheeky Monkeys".

'I feel worried about him... it's the worst thing'

It is a bit confusing ...

First "I didn't see him leaving before me, I don't know when he left the bar before us."

Then "An hour later he was kicked out of Cheeky Monkeys."

Perhaps he means that he now knows Theo was kicked out an hour after they all got there. But at the time, he didn't know when Theo left.

 

[SouthAussie]

Unless frantically running (and looking back etc) I personally wouldn’t read to much into it.

At 18 friends and I were known to run home from the pub especially if cold (in Victoria so freezing)- why walk 20mins if I could be home in 10? He is a young, fittish guy ... running a kilometre home wouldn’t have been difficult and would be a way to stay warm.

The rumours saying he has done a runner and is staying invisible I truely don’t believe. He has either met with foul play or is somewhere requiring help. JMO

I guess we don't know how Theo was running. Just that he was running, and a resident wished he had helped him.

Unless someone can find some reference that Theo was calm after the running? Because I do not believe that we have seen any CCTV after the running, and showing whether Theo appeared calm or appeared frantic.