Zac Barnes’ friends reveal his final words before he vanished near Thornton, NSW, without a trace: coronial inquest

One of the last people Zac Barnes saw before disappearing into bushland has expressed her heartbreak for the teen’s family as their seven-year search for answers continues, revealing that the last thing he said was ‘no stress’.

Zac, 18, was last seen getting out of Courtney Jones’ car and heading into bushland near Thornton railway station in the NSW Hunter region shortly before 8pm on November 13, 2016.

The teen did not have his phone or wallet on him and was wearing a faded blue shirt, blue board shorts and work boots.

He has not been seen or heard from since and his phone and social media accounts have remained inactive ever since.

The corona investigation into the disappearance of the apprentice bricklayer continued on Tuesday at the NSW Coroners Court in Lidcombe, Sydney.

Several witnesses who saw Zac the weekend he disappeared testified. They all told the court that they thought Zac “wasn’t himself.”

Friends Jones and her partner Matt Hindwood were the last to see Zac as he got out of her car at Thornton train station, crossed the road and drove into bushland.

Zac had spent the past 48 hours at their home in East Maitland.

Mrs. Jones recalled Zac’s behavior that weekend and ended her testimony with a heartfelt message for Zac’s mother, stepfather, and siblings who were at the inquest.

My heart really breaks for them. I wish I could give them more,” Ms Jones told the court.

Zac had shown up at Mrs. Jones’ house the previous Friday afternoon after losing his job.

He spent much of that weekend at home with the couple and another friend, drinking, watching movies and playing Monopoly.

Things escalated on Sunday night when Zac got agitated.

Mr Hindwood and Mrs Jones tried to calm Zac down and a short time later he got into their car to be dropped off at East Maitland railway station.

“He was still agitated and aggressive,” she told the court.

“We kept asking him what was going on, but he said not to stress and ‘don’t worry about me’.

“He said nobody cared about him and we didn’t need that extra stress.”

Mrs. Jones stopped at a nearby IGA on the way to buy cigarettes.

Zac then asked to be driven to Thornton station, but on Hausmann Drive near Tripp Close he became agitated again.

“He started screaming to let him out of the car,” said Ms Jones.

“He was really angry and paranoid. He was banging on the windows and was quite aggressive at the time.’

The last she saw of Zac was him crossing the road into bushland “at a brisk pace.”

“I drove off and made a U-turn, but when we passed it again, we couldn’t see Zac anywhere,” said Ms. Jones.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr. Hindwood recalled the last moments he and Zac shared together before he disappeared.

The pair became friends after meeting on TAFE nine months earlier.

Two days before he disappeared, Mr. Hindwood came home on a Friday afternoon to find Zac sleeping on his porch.

Zac told him that he lost his job after getting into a fight with a colleague.

“He was upset and didn’t seem like himself,” Mr Hindwood told the inquest.

He also gave evidence about Zac’s drug use that weekend.

“He was definitely stressed, I could tell he wasn’t his laughing nature that he was normal,” he said.

On the Sunday night while driving to Thornton, he remembered trying to calm down his friend in the backseat before Zac started screaming to be let out of the car.

“He grabbed the back of my chair and shook it,” Mr Hindwood told the inquest.

He said the pair then smoked a cigarette together for five minutes as he remembered Zac’s last words.

“He began to calm down,” Mr. Hindwood recalled.

“He said, ‘I’m going to see a friend down the road,’ and that I would see him tomorrow and not stress.”

“He gave me a hug and said, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’

He remembered seeing Zac walk into the bushland before losing sight of him.

“He lived a suburb away and I knew he had a lot of friends in the area so I wasn’t too worried about him,” Mr Hindwood said.

The next day on Monday, Mr. Hindwood went to work and only found out that afternoon that Zac was missing. He then joined the search for Zac organized by his stepfather and siblings.

Zac’s mother Karen Gudelj and stepfather Michael attended the inquest for a second day on Tuesday, supported by his two older brothers and two younger sisters.

Three final witnesses are expected to testify on the third and final day of the inquest on Wednesday.

Deputy State Coroner Carmel Forbes has invited the family to “bring the individual to life” at the end of Wednesday’s proof.

Zac is believed to be dead with no sightings since the night he was last seen on November 13, 2016.

Zac would be 25 if he were alive today.

For confidential support contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue 1300 22 4636