The last friend to see missing teenager Zac Barnes alive has recalled the final moments the pair shared together in the car before he vanished into bushland without a trace.
Zac, 18, was last seen getting out of a friend’s car heading into bushland near Thornton train station in the NSW Hunter region shortly before 8pm on November 13, 2016.
The Metford teen didn’t have his phone or wallet with him and was wearing a faded blue singlet, blue board shorts and work boots.
He hasn’t been seen or heard from since. His phone and social media accounts remain inactive since that time.
Zac is presumed dead with no sightings since the night he was last seen on November 13 2016.
Matt Hindwood and partner Courtney Jones, the last people to see Zac, recalled the encounter on the second day of the coroner’s inquest on Tuesday.
Zac Barnes, 18, (pictured) was last seen getting out of a friend’s car heading into bushland near Thornton train station in the NSW Hunter region on the evening of November 13, 2016
Matt Hindwood (pictured) was one of the last people to see Zac and recalled the encounter on the second day of the coroner’s inquest on Tuesday
Zac spent the previous 48 hours at their home after losing his job on the Friday.
Mr Hindwood arrived home that afternoon to Zac asleep on his verandah.
‘He was upset and didn’t seem himself,’ he told the inquest.
Zac spent much of that weekend at their East Maitland home with the couple and another friend.
Mr Hindwood gave evidence about Zac’s drug use that weekend.
On the Sunday night, things escalated when Zac became agitated.
Mr Hindwood and Ms Jones tried to calm Zac down and a short time later got in the car with them and asked to be dropped off at East Maitland train station.
During the drive, they stopped to buy cigarettes at a nearby IGA before Zac asked to be taken to Thornton station instead.
But Hausmann Drive near Tripp Close, became agitated again andscreamedthem to stop the car.
‘He grabbed the back of the seat and shook it,’ Mr Hindwood told the inquest.
He said the pair then spent five minutes having a cigarette together.
‘He was starting to calm down,’ Mr Hindwood recalled.
‘He said ‘I’m going to see a mate up the road’ and that I’d see him tomorrow and to don’t stress.’
‘He gave me a hug and said ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’
He said he saw Zac walk into bushland.
‘He lived one suburb down and knew he had a lot of mates in the area so I wasn’t overly worried,’ Mr Hindwood said.
Zac’s mother Karen Gudelj (right) and stepfather Michael were in attendance for a second day, supported by Zac’s older brothers and younger sisters Makayla and Mia.
Zac’s mother Karen Gudelj and stepfather Michael were in attendance for a second day, supported by his older brother Cody and younger sisters Makayla and Mia. Members of his family are pictured outside Lidcombe Coroners’ Court where the inquest is being held
The next day, Mr Hindwood went to work and didn’t find out Zac was missing until that afternoon.
It comes after the first day of the inquest heard harrowing details about Zac’s final days before he vanished.
In the days leading up to his disappearance, he lost his job after an altercation with a colleague at work.
Zac also asked for $1,200 from his parents to help to repay a debt he owed and sent a chilling Snapchat message to a friend which simply said ‘Dead’.
Questions were also raised about the urgency from police to find Zac after his mum Karen Gudelj and stepfather Michael reported him missing the next day
Detective Senior Constable Christopher Walker took over as officer-in-charge of the investigation eight days later on November 21 2016, which coincided with the first large scale police search for Zac.
It would be another two months before police dogs were called in while police divers weren’t deployed to scour local dams until another two months after that in late March 2017.
Det Sr Const Walker told the court no risk assessment done into the urgency of the search surrounding Zac’s disappearance.
Zac’s mother and stepfather were in attendance for a second day, supported by his older brother Cody and younger sisters Makayla and Mia.
Deputy state coroner Carmel Forbes told Zac’s family at the opening of the inquest they would be given an opportunity to ‘bring the individual to life’ at the end of evidence,
Zac Barnes (rear left) wasn’t himself after losing his job on the Friday, the inquest heard
The last friends to see missing Zac Barnes (pictured) alive has recalled the teenager’s final before he vanished without trace into bushland
Zac’s family hope the inquest will finally bring the answers the spent the last seven years searching for.
‘This is the day we’ve for fighting for a long time and we’re hoping to get some answers,’ Ms Gudelj told reporters outside court on Monday.
‘It’s an important first step to getting to the truth what happened to Zac. We’re hoping to bring our boy home, whether he’s alive or not.’
‘We just need to be patient and we look forward to seeing what happens tomorrow and the following day.
Zac would be 25 if he was still alive today.
The inquest is expected to continue before deputy state coroner Carmel Forbes until Wednesday.
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