Belgian police investigators left Australia on Wednesday after their mission to assist in the investigation into the disappearance of Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez's yielded no physical results after their ten-day mission.
"Unfortunately we did not find him," federal detective Christel Michiels told Het Laatste Nieuws, adding that the authorities and the community of Byron Bay had "done everything" to find the missing 18-year-old.
"And they will continue to do that," she said.
A separate, unnamed police source cited by Belgian media said the collaboration between Australian and Belgian authorities had been successful, and that Australian police "are moving heaven and earth to find a trace of Théo Hayez."
"Taken separately, some elements have little significance, but together they can bring clarity into the uncertainty," the source is cited as saying.
The federal investigators on Tuesday took part in the last physical searches for the Belgian backpacker, ongoing since for weeks since he vanished without a trace on the night of May 31 in the Australian beach town of Byron Bay.
On the day of their departure, the Belgian team carried out a final inspection of the hotel where Hayez was staying alongside Australian police. They also met with the Belgian student's parents, who remain in Australia.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
