Crowdfunding page created to help family of missing Brussels student, Theo Hayez

Crowdfunding page created to help family of missing Brussels student, Theo Hayez
Investigators have opened a murder investigation after a young Belgian backpacker went missing in Australia at the end of May. Credit: Facebook.

Whilst the investigation to find Theo Hayez - a Brussels based student who went missing in Australia on May 31st - continues, a crowdfunding page has been set up to raise money for his family and friends.

The money raised will allow for Theo’s family and friends to travel to Australia to assist in efforts to find him. There, they will be able to meet the Australian investigators who are still looking for Theo. Since its launch on Tuesday evening, the page has raised over 24,000 euro from 420 donations. The page has also been shared over 4,000 times on Twitter and Facebook.

“Everybody wants to find Theo. This fundraising is exclusively intended to help the family and some friends to go to Australia. We welcome any reasonable participation and will keep you informed about the results of the searches in due course”, reads the official statement on the crowdfunding page.

Hayez was last seen at around 23:00 on May 31 at a hotel on Jonson Street, in Byron Bay, a popular destination for backpackers in Australia, as previously reported.

Local police were alerted of Hayez’s disappearance on June 6, after he did not return to his hostel and had not been heard of since the night of May 31.

His disappearance was described as “completely out of character for him,” as he was reportedly in constant contact with his family and was set to return to Belgium at the start of June. "A few days before he disappeared, Theo told us he could not wait to come back to Belgium," said a statement on the crowdfunding page.

“Any information or sightings of Theo would be of great help to investigators,” said chief investigator for the case, Matthew Kehoe, adding that no activity had been reported on Hayez’s phone records or bank accounts since his disappearance.

Madeleine Fletcher

The Brussels Times


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