Eve Jeffery
Laurent Hayez loves music. His Facebook page is sprinkled with posts about musicians, and bands and his wish for the pandemic to be over so he can go to see live events again.
His page is also littered with faces from all over the world, posts full of pleas from people to help them find someone missing. He reposts them in the hope that he can in some small way help them be found. Sometimes there is a thank you saying the loved one has been located, but more often than not, the posts hang there in space, a collection of people never reunited with the ones who miss them the most. Laurent knows their pain.
It’s been two years today since his son Théo left a nightclub in Byron. It’s been two years since anyone saw him, or at least, that’s what we are led to believe. We don’t know, and if anyone does know, they are not telling.
Approaching his twenty-first birthday
Théo would be planning a big party soon – approaching his twenty-first birthday in September, he would be celebrating another year of university done and his dad, his mum Vinciane and his little brother, affectionately known as Lulu, would gather somewhere special to mark the occasion in Belgium.
Laurent says that not a day goes by that he isn’t in the family’s thoughts. ‘We continue to receive heartfelt messages of support from Byron Bay, Australia, Belgium and around the world. These messages mean so much to us and give us the strength to go on.
‘The last time we spoke with the coroner’s team, we were reassured to see how seriously they are going about their work, verifying the investigations carried out by the police.’
Police and coroner
Officially, Tweed/Byron detectives are continuing their inquiries as they prepare a brief of evidence on behalf of the NSW Coroner. They say that as it is now under coronial jurisdiction, it would be inappropriate for the NSW Police Force to comment.
If you are in Byron Bay today, there will be a gathering at to 3pm at The Pass to create a sand mandala to honour Théo and to help his family in Belgium remain connected to Byron Bay.
Laurent, who will spend May 31 quietly in Belgium with friends, says he has been vaccinated against COVID 19 and hopes he will be able to attend the Coroner’s hearing which he says is listed for around the end of November in Byron Bay. ‘I will be glad to see my Australian family, the incredible community in Byron Bay and, above all, hope that answers will be found to our many remaining questions.’
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