A friend who was drinking with missing Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez the night he disappeared has revealed security kicked the teenager out of the last bar where he was last seen alive.
Backpacker Antoine Van Laethem, 19, became friends with Mr Hayez at the WakeUp! hostel in Byron Bay where the pair had been staying and had gone to a bar with him on May 31, the night he vanished.
The pair were seen on CCTV at The Northern Hotel bottle shop in Byron Bay about 7.45pm before heading to Cheeky Monkey’s Bar later in the night.
Theo Hayez (pictured), 18, was staying at the WakeUp! hostel when he disappeared on the night of May 31
Backpacker Antoine Van Laethem (pictured), 19, became friends with Theo at the WakeUp! hostel where the pair had been staying and had gone to a bar with him on May 31 – the night he disappeared
‘We went out together after leaving the hostel and we arrived with some other people from the hostel and then everyone talked with other people,’ Mr Van Laethem told The Daily Telegraph.
‘I didn’t see him leaving before me, I don’t know when he left the bar before us. An hour later he was kicked out of Cheeky Monkeys.’
Mr Van Laethem said he sent Mr Hayez a text message the next day but he never replied.
Six days later he received a message from Mr Hayez’s cousin saying he had been missing for about a week.
‘I feel worried about him, we still don’t know what happened to Theo,’ Mr Van Laethem said.
Mr Hayez was last seen leaving the Cheeky Monkey’s bar about 11pm before his phone emitted its final signal near cliffs by the town’s lighthouse a few hours later.
He was supposed to check out of his room at the hostel on June 3 but staff did not report him missing until June 6.
Police previously released footage showing Mr Hayez walking from the Cheeky Monkey’s nightclub wearing a black hooded jumper, beige pants and black shoes (pictured)
Mr Van Laethem has slammed the hostel for not raising the alarm sooner.
‘If someone doesn’t check out after one day maybe you should ask yourselves some questions,’ he told the ABC.
WakeUp! backpackers declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.
On Tuesday there was a change of tact in the search for Mr Hayez as rescuers turned their attention to the headland around the lighthouse.
Dozens of people, including State Emergency Service volunteers and members of the public, searched in the area where the last ‘ping’ from his phone was recorded on June 1.
The search was suspended that evening with nothing of interest found, NSW Police said in a statement.
Theo Hayez, 18, was staying at the WakeUp! hostel (pictured) when he disappeared on the night of May 31
Rescuers look for Mr Hayez around the Cape Byron Lighthouse where the last ‘ping’ from Theo’s phone was recorded on June 1
The operation resumed mid-morning on Wednesday with specialist police forces.
Theo’s distraught father Laurent made an emotional plea for help on Monday, 17 days after his son went missing.
He said he feared his son was in grave danger and begged for any information that could lead police to his whereabouts.
‘Before I left Belgium I promised Theo’s little brother Lucas that I would bring his brother home. Please, help me keep my promise to him,’ he told reporters through tears.
Theo used encrypted messaging service Whatsapp the night he disappeared and his father asked for help obtaining access to the messages.
WhatsApp confirmed it had provided all the information it has to police.
However, the company was only able to access and disclose some data – which can include a user’s name, last seen date, IP address and basic information – but not the encrypted content.
Theo had been preparing to return home after eight months travelling Australia.
Homicide detectives are helping the investigation along with Belgian authorities but police hold hope he is still alive.
More than $65,000 has been raised via a GoFundMe page for the Hayez family, part of which was used to help his father Laurent Hayez fly to Australia.
Laurent Hayez arrived in the country late last week and has vowed to stay until his son is found.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Cheeky Monkeys Bar for comment.