[1] His family called New South Wales police on 6 June 2019, concerned about his lack of contact and that he had failed to return to his accommodation.
Investigations in conjunction with Hayez's family and Google suggest a last possible whereabouts in the vicinity of Cosy Corner, Tallow Beach.
In July, a grey Puma hat, similar to the one Hayez was wearing when he was last seen, was found in bushland at Tallow Beach by community search volunteers who had responded to the family's plight in the months afterwards.
[3][7] The reasons for Hayez to be there after midnight are various: he was lost; he was misdirected by Google Maps; he was under the effect of alcohol or drugs; he was suicidal; he was taken there by a local (given the knowledge needed to travel the bush route at night); he was heading for a party; or, he was hurt or attacked by someone.
Murray spent three months with the unofficial search party and documented the case in late 2019 in a 6-part Australian crime podcast called The Lighthouse.