Tasmania Police have been left scrambling to rejoin the hunt for missing Belgian hiker Celine Cremer after a private search team uncovered her mobile phone in a section of rainforest authorities had previously declared was extensively searched.
The discovery, made within just three hours by leading Australian private investigator Ken Gamble and his team, has reignited criticism police missed a critical piece of evidence that could have solved the mystery.
The embarrassing revelation comes as Sunday’s official search was suspended due to wild weather, with rain, hail and even snow sweeping the state’s north-west.
Police now say they will resume tomorrow, but the discovery has already put Mr Gamble’s team ahead in a case that has baffled authorities since Ms Cremer vanished during a short hike in June 2023.
Inspector Andrew Hanson said Ms Cremer’s friends and family had arranged a privately organised search of the area this weekend, with the support of police.
‘Yesterday, a bit before midday, the private search party located a mobile phone, which has been confirmed as belonging to Celine and will now undergo further forensic examination,’ he said.
‘The phone was found in an area that has been extensively searched previously and 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 more a direct route back to her car as daylight faded.
‘We suspect she dropped her phone and continued without it, becoming disoriented in dense terrain.’
Belgian backpacker Celine Cremer did not return from an easy hike at Philosopher Falls in 2023
Ms Cremer’s car was discovered at the trailhead’s car park on June 27
Tasmania Police as well as search and rescue officers and SES volunteers will resume the search once weather conditions ease.
Inspector Hanson said the independent search controller has postponed searching today for safety reasons due to rain, hail and potential snow.
A Bush Walkers Weather Alert has been issued by the Bureau of Meteorology.
‘When the search recommences, we will work together with the independent searchers to specifically re-search the area where the phone was located and the likely route Celine may have taken after losing it,’ he said.
The last confirmed sighting of Ms Cremer was in Waratah on Saturday, June 17 in 2023.
Police believe she drove to Philosopher Falls, parked her car and set off on what was meant to be a short bushwalk.
It was nine days later that friends of Ms Cremer notified Tasmania Police of her disappearance when she failed to board the Spirit of Tasmania ferry from Devonport.
Officers located her SUV at the Philosopher Falls car park the next day.
A new search of the forest surrounding Philosopher Falls is underway
Ken Gamble (pictured), a professional private investigator, has found a vital piece of evidence in the search for missing Belgian backpacker Celine Cremer
‘In the days since Celine’s disappearance, the winter weather in the area included sub-zero temperatures, snow and rainfall,’ said Inspector Hanson.
‘Expert medical advice at the time indicated those conditions were not survivable for the duration she is believed to have been exposed.
‘Our initial search continued for two weeks, and follow-up searches have been conducted numerous times over the last two years, with no further signs of her located until yesterday.’
Ms Cremer’s mother in Belgium has been notified of the discovery of the phone.
It is understood four of Ms Cremer’s loved ones from Europe arrived at Philosopher Falls earlier this week to join a last-ditch bid to locate her belongings, though it’s unclear if they were part of the private search party.
A police search controller has been working closely with the private search party to ensure safety and proper handling of any discoveries.
Officers remain in close contact with Celine’s family and continue assessing new information ‘to provide them with answers and closure’.
Ms Cremer, an experienced hiker, had been exploring Tasmania for six months before she vanished.
Mr Gamble remains convinced that Ms Cremer strayed from the trail and became lost
‘There is no evidence of anything other than misadventure,’ Tasmania Police Inspector Andrew Hanson said at the time.
Mr Gamble has taken on the case pro bono in the hope of providing answers to Ms Cremer’s distraught mother, Ariane, in Belgium.
His company, IWF Global, has searched the scene three times already and is returning with a team of 25 volunteers chosen for their bushcraft and medical expertise.