Pictured: Charlie Scott, 18, died after falling from a high-rise Gold Coast hotel last week
The family of a teenager who died on Schoolies has been targeted by trolls and fake fundraising efforts in the days since the tragic incident.
Charlie Scott, 18, was taking part in the traditional school leavers celebrations on the Gold Coast when he plunged from the balcony of his Hilton Hotel on Friday morning.
Just moments earlier the Victorian teenager had posted to his Snapchat story with a simple photo and the word ‘goodbye’.
Police are not treating his death as suspicious.
Charlie’s heartbroken sister Holly revealed over the weekend that his family had been subjected to ‘nasty comments’ about his death.
Charlie’s heartbroken sister Holly revealed his family had been subjected to ‘nasty comments’ over the weekend and also that a fundraising page claiming to be raising money for them was a scam
Charlie left school in grade 11 to pursue a career as an apprentice electrician (pictured right). In the early hours of Friday morning he plunged to his death from the 42nd floor of the Hilton Hotel
‘We’re hurting and in pain from the last 48 hours…’ Ms Scott wrote on Facebook.
‘To all of the trolls that are making nasty comments about my brother and family, you are an absolute disgrace.
‘Just imagine losing a child/sibling/friend and even someone that means the world to you, can you please explain to me how that would make you feel?’
A spate of offensive and careless comments online in the days after Charlie’s death poked fun at the tragic incident.
‘He won’t do that again,’ one troll wrote.
‘I guess he didn’t want to become a toolie next year,’ another heartless person said.
Ms Scott also notified friends on Facebook that a fundraising page claiming to be a way to donate money to the family was a fake.
The GoGetFunding page has since been taken down, with several hundred dollars in donations to be returned to donors.
David and Jo Scott made a heartbreaking trip to the Gold Coast on Saturday to bring home their son.
Charlie’s friends told how after seeing his Snapchat post they ‘put two and two together’ and desperately tried to call him, but there was no response.
Dozens of his friends rushed to the Hilton Hotel to check on the teenager, but police had already closed off the scene.
An eyewitness told Daily Mail Australia he heard a loud bang while waiting for a taxi, which he later discovered was the sound of the teenager plunging to his death.
‘I was a street away waiting for a taxi and heard a really loud bang,’ Johnson Muir said.
A school friend wipes away a tear as he arrives at a makeshift vigil where just hours earlier the 18-year-old died
Traumatised students have been leaving floral tributes outside the Asian food court where the 18-year-old plunged to his death.
Charlie Scott’s devastated friends (pictured) console one another at the scene, hours after he fell to his death from the Hilton hotel in Surfers Paradise
Charlie was staying with friends on the 42nd floor of the lavish high-rise hotel (pictured, left) in Surfers Paradise
‘I thought somebody had just thrown something off the balcony but then I heard the screams.
‘By the time I walked around the corner police were already on the scene and holding the kids back.
‘One girl was bawling her eyes out screaming: “I could’ve helped him and now he’s dead, he’s dead”.’
The ‘well respected and liked’ teenager attended Parade College in Melbourne until Year 11, when he chose to leave school in favour of an electrical apprenticeship.
Friends said he loved his job, and worked as a football and netball umpire on the side.
Schoolies is an annual celebration across Australia for Year 12 students who have finished their schooling. The Gold Coast has traditionally been the most popular holiday destination
Hamish Bidgood (left) fell to his death from a balcony during Schoolie’s celebrations in 2018
Northern Umpires Association president Dan Henery said: ‘The only way to sum it up is that it is tragic. You don’t see things like this coming.’
‘It has come out of the blue for us. He was always pushing himself on the track, he was at the top of the group, he had a career ahead of him. He was a great umpire.’
Charlie’s is the latest in a string of tragic deaths during Schoolies.
Last November, NSW teenager Hamish Bidgood, 18, fell to his death from the 11th floor of a Surfers Paradise high-rise.
For confidential support call the Lifeline 24-hour crisis support on: 13 11 14
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