Fearful man ‘begged to be rescued’ before disappearing
Key points:
- Jeremiah Rivers, who vanished in 2021, called his cousin fearing for his life.
- His cousin believes Rivers argued with a friend and was possibly harmed by the group he was travelling with.
- Despite extensive searches and investigations, no evidence of Rivers or foul play has been found, leaving his fate uncertain.
Hours before disappearing in Queensland’s remote south-west, Jeremiah Rivers phoned his cousin for help to get away from the pig hunters he was travelling with, a court has been told.
Rivers, known as Jayo, disappeared after the seven men stopped at Wippo Creek near Noccundra on the way from NSW to the Northern Territory in October 2021.
His cousin Matthew Perris said Rivers called about midnight asking for help getting out of a situation, the Coroners Court sitting in Brisbane was told on Thursday.
“He was outnumbered and he just wanted to get away from whoever he was with at the time,” Perris said.
He told the court his 27-year-old cousin, sounding drunk, wanted him to go from the Northern Territory to Queensland to help him.
Rivers said he had an argument, a punch up, with his long-time friend Joe Joe Kantilla-Gaden, Perris added.
“Jayo told me that Joe Joe got the other fellows to get on his side so they all gang up on him,” Perris said in a police statement read in court.
Perris, who had no transport to get to Queensland, spoke to Rivers for about 10 minutes, trying to calm him down and saying everything should be alright in the morning.
It was the first time Perris heard of issues between his cousin and Kantilla-Gaden, who had grown up together.
Under questioning from Coroner Donald MacKenzie, Perris agreed his cousin was distressed, fearful for his life and begging to be rescued.
He told Rivers’ grandmother about the call the following day, although he only gave the statement about three months later.
There are no records of the call, with Perris saying he has a new Facebook profile and no access to the old one.
Rivers used his own social media account on his friend’s phone as he did not have his own device, Perris said.
A lawyer acting for Rivers’ family has told the inquest his theory is that the missing man got into an argument with Kantilla-Gaden after learning the group was trafficking three pounds of cannabis to the Northern Territory.
The allegation has been denied by group members, who got into Queensland through a locked gate during COVID-19 border restrictions.
Lawyer Stewart Levitt said his theory was that Rivers was grabbed, driven away and shot near Wilson Creek as people reported hearing gunshots in that area around the time of the disappearance.
Despite an extensive search, a forensic examination, police investigation, a missing persons campaign, use of cadaver dogs and at one stage information provided from a psychic medium, no sign of Mr Rivers or potential foul play has been identified.
“It is suspected Jayo has passed,” counsel assisting Sarah Lio-Willie said earlier.
The inquest hearing is due to end on Friday.
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