The father of Théo Hayez, a Belgian backpacker who went missing in Australia at the end of May, will fly back to the country in August, according to a statement given to the press on Friday.
Laurent Hayez had travelled to the country shortly after his 18-year-old son was reported missing on June 6. He vanished without a trace on the night of May 31, with CCTV video showing him leaving an establishment in Byron Bay, a common destination for backpackers in Australia.
"Contrary to what has been reported in recent days, Théo's parents and younger brother have not given up and trust the Australian and Belgian police, whose work to get answers continues," Laurent Hayez said in a statement.
News of Laurent Hayez's planned return to the country follows a brief return to Belgium in the middle of July to be with their youngest son and other relatives, after first arriving in Australia on June 15.
Australian investigators —briefly assisted by a Belgian police team sent to the resort town— called off the physical searches for the missing 18-year-old at the start of the month, after a resource-intensive and weeks-long search operation yielded no trace of the missing Belgian.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
