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The Belgian tourist Celine Cremer disappeared in an ancient rainforest during a brutal Tasmanian winter, while it is likely her remains were unearthed during this mild summer.
The 31-year-old backpacker had packed lightly to walk a relatively easy trail through the wilderness of the Tarkine in June 2023. Days later, her family reported her missing.
Tasmania police made a grisly discovery in the peaceful forest this week: five bones, two teeth and a Honda car key.
The car key was Cremer’s.
The bones, the teeth and the key were found about 2km away from Philosopher Fallsnear Cradle Mountain in Tasmania’s north-west.
In Australia, it is more common to hear of people going missing and dying in the harsh outback, where the sun beats down relentlessly and the nights can be crisply freezing.
The immense expanse of the Australian desert frustrates searchers, but the rugged, dense rainforest has its own challenges.
Police think Cremer set off on the track that winds down along Arthur River, before a steep set of stairs leading to a platform for viewing the waterfall.
They think she then tried to take a shortcut back to her car as night approached. At some point she dropped her phone, and continued on, disoriented.
She had last been seen on 17 June 2023. A major search was launched after family reported her missing on 26 June.
The next day, her white SUV was found in the Philosopher Falls car park.
Insp Andrew Hanson said in the days after she disappeared, there were subzero temperatures, snow and rainfall.
“Expert medical advice at the time indicated those conditions were not survivable for the duration she is believed to have been exposed.”
The official search stalled.
But Cremer’s friends and family organised their own search, and in December last year, the SES search and rescue volunteer Tony Hage found her Samsung phone.
The police then got involved again, and Hanson said they suspect she dropped the phone and continued without it, “becoming disoriented in dense terrain”.
“Phone data, as well as the location it was found, supports our theory that Celine may have, using an app on her phone, elected to leave the Philosopher Falls track to take a more direct route back to her car as daylight faded.”
On 28 January, a bushwalker found human remains near where she disappeared. Forensic testing is under way to confirm they are Cremer’s, with Hanson saying he understood how distressing the situation was for Cremer’s loved ones.
The bushwalker, Jarrod Boys, told the ABC that he saw bones “just lying on top of a pile of soil and stones”, snapped a pic and raced to get reception to call police.
“I was just praying for a miracle that I’d be able to find something today,” he said.
“I guess I went into shock. I was very overwhelmed. I’m not a particularly emotional guy, but yes it was definitely an emotional experience for me.”
Taking advantage of the low water levels in the Arthur River, police started scouring the riverbed and riverbank.
On 30 January, a bra, a thermal top, more bones and polar fleece jacket believed to belong to Cremer were found.
Cremer’s sister, Amélie Cremer, wrote on Facebook that there was still a long way to go but that it was an encouraging step towards a definitive answer.
And this week, police sifting through a 350-metre section of the river uncovered more bones, the teeth and a car key that was confirmed to be Cremer’s.
“We know that she got lost. We know that she lost her phone. We know that she’s possibly drowned in the Arthur River,” private investigator Ken Gamble, who has led the volunteer searches, told Australian Associated Press.
The state coroner will be responsible for an investigation into her disappearance, while forensic testing of the remains continues – as does hope that the mystery of Cremer’s disappearance will be solved, more than two-and-a-half years later.
