Coroner rules on fate of man who disappeared on road trip A coroner has ruled out foul play in the disappearance of a 22-year-old man who walked into the bush near Charters Towers.
Crime by Grace Mason
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Subscriber only A CORONER has ruled out foul play in the disappearance of Jayden Penno-Tompsett and found he likely died due to exposure to the elements in remote bushland during a drug-fuelled road trip to Cairns. The 22-year-old was travelling from Newcastle with a friend Lucas Tattersall to celebrate New Year s Eve in December 2017 and the pair took drugs throughout the trip before Mr Penno-Tompsett was last seen early on December 31 near Charters Towers.
(I said to him) we re in the middle of nowhere … don t do anything stupid, he told the court. I didn t want to be separated from my friend in a place I didn t know. He told the court he searched for some time before being told by other friends already in Cairns to continue driving. Jayden Penno-Tompsett was reportedly last seen on Stock Route Road, which is a semirural area on the outskirts of Charters Towers. When asked why he did not immediately report Mr Penno-Tompsett s disappearance when he reached Cairns he said he didn t want to be a rat if he was found in possession of drugs.
An inquest begins tomorrow into the disappearance of Newcastle man, Jayden Penno-Tompsett.
11 witnesses will be called to give evidence at the Cairns Coroners Court, including a man who was travelling with Jayden when he went missing in outback Queensland.
The-then 22-year-old was last seen near Charters Towers on December 31, 2017.
Security cameras at a roadhouse captured him earlier that day.
Police have been told he fled into bushland after an argument with his friend… and wasn’t reported missing for four days.
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