Police join search for Belgian tourist after phone found in Tasmanian wilderness two years since she went missing | Tasmania

Police will officially join private detectives and local volunteers to comb the Tasmanian wilderness two-and-a-half years after a Belgian tourist went missing and a day after his mobile phone was found.

Celine Cremer’s Samsung phone was found by SES search and rescue volunteer Tony Hage on Saturday near Philosopher Falls, near Cradle Mountain in Tasmania’s north-west, where the 31-year-old was last seen on June 17, 2023.

Inspector Andrew Hanson said Tasmanian police were supporting Cremer’s friends and family in a private search of the area this weekend. On Sunday, he announced that police officers would also officially participate in it.

“Police were not directing or coordinating this particular search, but we were supporting this effort by sharing information and advice on what to do if anything was discovered,” he said.

“Yesterday, just before noon, the special search team found a mobile phone confirmed to belong to Celine and will now undergo further forensic examination.”

Hanson said the phone was found in an area that had “been extensively searched before.”

“The phone data and whereabouts support our theory that Celine may have used an app on her phone to leave the Philosopher Falls trail and choose to take a more direct route back to her car as daylight faded,” the investigator said.

“We suspect he dropped his phone, continued without it and became disoriented in the dense terrain.

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Police believe Cremer drove to Philosopher Falls, parked his car, and headed off for “what was supposed to be a short forest hike.”

“Unfortunately, he didn’t come back,” Hanson said.

Nine days after Cremer was last confirmed seen, friends reported her missing, and police found her white SUV in a Philosopher Falls parking lot the next day.

“In the days after Celine’s disappearance, winter weather in the area included subzero temperatures, snow and precipitation,” Hanson said.

“Expert medical advice at the time stated that these conditions made it unlikely that he would survive for the length of time he was believed to have been exposed.”

An independent controller who shows how dangerous and volatile conditions can be in Australia’s extreme southern tip postponed the search for Cremer on Sunday morning due to rain, hail and possible snow after a weather warning was issued to bushwalkers by the Bureau of Meteorology.

The initial police search lasted two weeks, then was called off when experts determined Cremer would not survive. Despite numerous and extensive searches in dangerous terrain and harsh weather conditions since then, no trace of him had been found until Saturday’s discovery.

Tasmanian historian Rob Parsons, who helped organize and participate in the search, shared on social media that “local legend” Hage found the phone “after more than 20 trips into the field”. [many of them solo]”.

“Tony located Celine’s cell phone less than 100 feet from her last known GPS location,” Parsons wrote.

“This proves the theory that Celine lost her phone shortly after recording her last location and provides clear direction as to the route she took.”

Search efforts will continue if weather conditions are suitable.

“Once the search resumes, we will work with independent investigators to re-investigate the area where the phone was found and the possible route Celine took after losing it,” Hanson said.