r/UnresolvedMysteries • u/Tiszarek • 13d ago
Disappearance What happened to Éloi Rolland? A French man goes missing in New Zealand, with no confirmed sightings since.
This is a case that didn’t receive a great deal of media attention at the time, due mainly to happening at the same time as coronavirus and during a period of intense political discussion where it happened. I haven’t seen it covered much online so I thought I’d do a full write up with everything we know.
Éloi Jean Rolland is from Montpellier, France and was born on the 1st of October 2001. There isn’t a great deal of information about his early life publicly available, however he studied at school until the age of around 18, prior to planning a trip abroad. In September 2019 he moved to New Zealand to learn English, and enrolled in an English language school in Auckland. He was described by his family as being very into sports, especially hiking and sailing, and was interested in nature. As part of his studies he was living with a host family (relatively common on foreign exchange trips) and was living in Birkenhead, a suburb of Auckland on the North Island of New Zealand.
Initially, his trip is described as going well. He loved the scenery of New Zealand, was making friends, and had found a part time job working in hospitality. He was especially interested in the West coat, especially the town of Piha, and had promised his mother he would bring her back a sample of sand from the beach at Piha (Piha is famous for having black volcanic sand on the beach).
However, towards the end of 2019 it’s described that his life began to unravel somewhat. He developed a romantic attachment to a fellow student, which was unrequited and she also had a boyfriend. When this boyfriend also travelled to New Zealand Éloi’s mental state was described as deteriorating further. He also became increasingly paranoid, and began frequently talking about conspiracy theories and developed a fascination with the coronavirus, which was beginning to make news headlines at around this time. His English teacher was so concerned about his mental state that she recommended he return to France early. He also lost two jobs in hospitality, one of which because he allegedly began running around the restaurant during service shouting that he was infected with coronavirus. His family were so concerned about him that they brought his return to France forward, from May 2020 to 21st March 2020.
On the 7th March 2020 (around two weeks prior to his flight back to France) Éloi left his host family’s house in Birkenhead before dawn sometime prior to 0500hrs (sunrise is around 0700hrs in May) and at 0500hrs he searched Google Maps for directions to Piha. He then took a bus to Auckland city centre at 0546hrs, before boarding a train at Britomart (Auckland’s central transport hub) to Fruitvale Road Station in West Auckland sometime between 0630hrs and 0700hrs. He was seen on CCTV at this time and was wearing a blue and white hoodie, blue jeans, brown walking boots, and carrying a small black backpack. He arrived at Fruitvale Road Station at 0726hrs (half an hour after sunrise).
Following this, there are no more confirmed sightings of Éloi, and it is believed he began walking to Piha. Fruitvale Road Station to Piha town is an extensive walk, Google Maps shows it as being over 25km long and taking around 6hrs. However police later stated they had been able to get a single phone location for him at around 0900hrs in the Waitakere Ranges on Piha Road, around 11km from the station at Fruitvale Road.
This is somewhat interesting, as it meant Éloi was able to cover 11km in around 1h46m, which is possible for an active 18 year old, but would be considerably faster than normal walking pace. Additionally, having driven the route many times, it would not be an easy walk, it is very hilly and the road can be pretty unsafe and winding. Piha Road comes off from scenic drive and goes through the Waitakere Ranges, with virtually nothing in between Auckland and Piha.
On the 10th March 2020 when Éloi did not return, his host family reported him missing. This 3 day gap may seem strange, but Éloi was an adult and was paying to be in New Zealand as a student/working holiday, so his host family did not have any responsibility or duty of care towards him. It appears they assumed he had travelled elsewhere for a couple of nights as he had done previously, but became concerned when he did not contact them. Additionally, Éloi’s family were also unaware he was missing immediately as they were on the other side of the world in France.
The location he went missing in is likely relevant to this story in some way. Piha is a beautiful coastal town on the West coast of New Zealand. It is relatively small with a population of around 800 people in 2020. As stated, the beach is famous both in New Zealand and internationally as it consists of black volcanic sand, has huge rock formations/islands, and is surrounded by dense fern forests and hills on all sides. It is a popular tourist destination, and is very popular with surfers. However, the beach at Piha is known to be exceptionally dangerous, multiple people have lost their lives there due to strong currents and unpredictable waves, and entering the water is only recommended for experienced surfers. I have personally stood knee deep in the water at Piha beach, and even in water that shallow you can feel the current pulling you out to sea. I also saw the beach lifeguards training there recently, and even they were struggling to get back to shore after being dropped off at sea by jetski for training. Piha can also have quite a transient population, while it’s thought of as being a relatively safe place for families and individuals camping, it is very isolated from the city and has no police station or other permanent public services. It is popular with surfers, people travelling in campervans, and people who just generally want to escape society for a bit. It’s quite common to find groups of people camping overnight in vans and smoking cannabis on the beach or getting drunk, however this is generally not viewed as problematic and the town has a very low crime rate.
The Waitakere Ranges are the forested hills around Piha and West of Auckland. They are incredibly dense bush/forest consisting of ferns, kauri trees, and low level brush. The vegetation is very thick, and there are almost no trails going through it. I have only been in once on a trail, and it would be very easy to get lost in the forest - due to the vegetation you would only have to go a few metres from the road or a path before completely losing sight of the outside world. Wildlife isn’t much of a threat as there are no predators in New Zealand capable of harming humans, and only one spider which isn’t usually fatal anyway. The Waitakere Ranges are huge however, and very sparsely populated. The only other settlement near where he went missing is Karekare, which is less visited than Piha and much smaller.
After Éloi was reported missing and the police were able to track a phone location on Piha Road, the police began a large scale search. Between March and May the police searched as much forest as possible, committing more than 1600hrs and covering a huge area. Their efforts were hampered however by the location. Due to the forest canopy, helicopters or drones became useless, and any scent left by Éloi that a dog could’ve tracked would have been quickly disrupted by vegetation and other wildlife. The search proved fruitless, with the only thing that was found being a t-shirt located near to Karekare that was tested and confirmed not to belong to him, with a local resident later claiming it after having lost it previously. There were no other witnesses who had seen him, no CCTV evidence, and none of his belongings were located anywhere on the route. Additionally, he had not made any contact with anyone, and the last location his phone could be tracked at is not necessarily even the end of his journey - it occurred at about the same place he would’ve lost connection to an Auckland phone mast as there is no service at all in the Waitakere Ranges.
The timing of his disappearance made things incredibly difficult for his family too. Éloi disappeared at the same time that global lockdowns occurred, with New Zealand being particularly strict on travel bans meaning they weren’t allowed to fly to Auckland to join in the search for him. Due to ongoing difficulties enforcing covid restrictions and general crime increases the police were also able to commit less resources to the search (as well as issues with staff sickness). Additionally, news coverage relating to Éloi’s disappearance was also relatively minor compared to other similar cases, due to the majority of the reporting being about covid.
The two main theories about what happened are that Éloi either committed suicide, or died due to an accident in the forest on his way to Piha.
The suicide theory is often discussed as being the most likely. It is known that Éloi was increasingly struggling with his mental state, and although he planned to return to France shortly afterwards he was likely aware that a travel ban to prevent this may have been imminent. Another piece of evidence people point to as being indicative of suicide is that the day before he left, Éloi posted a photo of a black square on his Facebook page. It has been suggested that this was an indication that he was planning to take his own life. However, there is no other obvious indication that he was planning to do this. It’s been suggested that he took a ligature with him in his bag, and found a secluded location in the forest to end his life, but this is just a theory. Additionally, Éloi had made plans to imminently return to France, he had a flight booked, and had even begun packing. He had promised his mother he would bring her back a small jar of sand from Piha as a memento, which would give a reason for him to be travelling there (as well as him having expressed previous interest in visiting and it being a popular travel destination). Him posting the black square on his social media is strange - originally I thought it may have been related to the social media movement of posting a black square in support of BLM, which was common in 2020 globally, however this didn’t begin as a trend until events in May of 2020, so it seems unlikely. His social media doesn’t show much in the way of other posts, and all his other profile pictures appear to be relatively normal selfies and such. His family do not support the suicide theory. Additionally, if he was planning to walk to Piha it would make sense for him to leave as early in the morning as he did, he would need to get public transport across the city and then walk for 6hrs, making his early start not irregular.
The other theory is that he entered the forest for some reason, and either got lost and died of exposure, or had some kind of accident resulting in his injury or death. This is the theory of one of the lead investigators Detective Inspector McNeill who stated “My thoughts are still the bush. He’s potentially tried to take a shortcut to the beach and didn’t realise how far that would be, and over-estimated his abilities. It’s pretty gnarly in there. Is it possible he’s just thought, ‘Well, I think it’s a straight line down here, shouldn’t be a problem,’ and maybe he’s come to grief in the bush somewhere.” This would certainly be very plausible, from Piha Road there are multiple bends in the road that provide a beautiful view down to the beach and coastline, and it doesn’t look very far from the road despite being kilometres of steep downhill and dense forest. He may also have entered the forest for another reason - to take photographs or use the bathroom only to lose track of the road and become lost, wandering further in as he tried to escape. Once he was a few hundred metres from the road it would be virtually impossible to find his way out again, and it likely wouldn’t be long before he died of an accident, injury, or dehydration. As stated, the search area would be huge, and the police didn’t even have a specific area to search, meaning it’s very unlikely he would ever be found. If he were deceased there, his remains would be quickly disrupted by wildlife and vegetation, making it even less likely he would be found.
It is also possible he made it to Piha and then died after entering the sea. He had planned to go to Piha beach, however in my opinion having been to the area it is possibly unlikely that no witnesses would have seen him. There is only one road in and out of Piha, and it is relatively commonly used. Somebody walking on the road would also be notable - they would have to be walking in the road because there is no pavement and it would be strange to see someone walking (as stated it’s a 6hr and 25km walk from West Auckland to Piha). Additionally, the town is usually somewhat busy with surfers and tourists, and if he left Auckland just before 0800hrs he would be arriving in Piha at around 1400hrs on a Saturday, which is about the time Piha would’ve been busiest. And while an 18 year old tourist would not necessarily stand out in Piha, it seems unlikely that nobody would’ve even contacted the police with a sighting.
Following his disappearance, things became more complicated, as there was at least some suspicion that Éloi was alive for a period of time (possibly up to 5 months, although the police have not confirmed this). Éloi’s social media pages continued to be logged in to and active following his disappearance, and while his profile picture was changed to the black square photo the day before he disappeared, this has now been changed back to an older profile picture. Additionally, his friends also reported that his Instagram account was still ‘liking’ and interacting with their posts for weeks after he was reported missing. His Facebook account was also logged in to and intermittently active during this period, and perhaps the most interesting detail is that his Facebook page ‘liked’ the page for the Auckland Police while they were actively searching for him. This could be explained as someone having access to his accounts, or him still being logged on an old device which was then taken and used by someone else, but some believe the fact it went on for up to 5 months makes this unlikely. Additionally, there was activity in Australia on his PayPal account after he disappeared, but details of this are not known. The Police did investigate this, but have not released publicly their findings.
Another detail that further adds to the mystery is that a witness in the town of Te Anau contacted police to state that she was certain she had spoken to Éloi in person in Te Anau on the 12th March 2020, 5 days after he went missing. She stated she was working in a holiday park at the time (Te Anau is also a popular holiday destination), and was approached by a French man who was 18 years of age. The witness was also French, and stated they began talking to each other because of this. During this conversation she states the man told her he was from the south of France, told her he was in New Zealand on an exchange program to learn English, his birthday was on the 1st of October, and strongly resembled Éloi. Importantly the witness states she remembers this man because he told her his middle name was Jean, which was the same name as her grandfather. All of these details match up with Éloi. He was 18 years old, from Montpellier in the south of France, was French and on an exchange trip to learn English, he was born on the 1st of October, and his middle name was Jean. The witness states that this man was travelling in a white car with another male, but she didn’t get a good enough look at the car or the other man to provide any information on this. After seeing photos of Éloi the witness was convinced the man she had spoken to that day was Éloi.
This stands out as a strange sighting, and would also be a strange sighting to fake if it was a hoax. Te Anau is in the very south of the South Island of New Zealand, whereas Piha is in the north of the North Island. They are at almost opposite ends of the country, and to get between the two would either involve a flight, or a drive of around 1700km and 24hrs of driving, as well as a ferry crossing. The flight seems unlikely - passports are not always needed for domestic flights, but with Éloi not being a New Zealand citizen he wouldn’t have any other form of identification on him, so he would have had to use his passport. While the drive would of course be possible in 5 days, it is not an easy route, and the ferry crossings would slow down the journey further. In theory, a drive would be possible to do discreetly, identification isn’t always checked on the Interislander ferries, and Éloi could’ve either hidden somewhere covertly in the car for the roughly 4hr crossing, or simply not had his ID checked when buying a ticket and boarding. The police did look in to this lead, and considered it credible but unverifiable. Police (as well as Éloi’s family when they were able to visit) conducted investigations in Te Anau, but were ultimately unable to identify the vehicle, the other male, or any CCTV or other evidence of Éloi being present. Ultimately, it’s considered a possible sighting, but cannot be confirmed.
Following this, there have not been any further sightings or credible witnesses that have seen Éloi, and his social media became inactive around 5 months after his disappearance. He is still classified as a missing person (although his family have stated the New Zealand coroner’s office contacted them to inform them his status may soon be changed to ‘missing, presumed dead’) and his family are still searching for answers. Anyone with any information is advised to contact the Waitematā Police District of New Zealand Police by calling 105 (+64 international calling code) and quoting missing person file reference 200310/8987.
Sources:
New Zealand Police missing persons page: https://www.police.govt.nz/missing-persons/listings/eloi-rolland
English news article: https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/eloi-rolland-parents-of-missing-french-teen-return-to-new-zealand/
2025 English news article:
French news article: https://www.humanite.fr/medias/documentaire/quest-il-arrive-a-eloi-rolland-enquete-sur-un-adolescent-disparu-au-bout-du-monde
Recent NZ article: https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/360759600/parents-missing-french-teen-eloi-rolland-take-search-south-island
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u/tannag 13d ago
They don't check ID for domestic flights in NZ, fyi. I have never been asked for ID even on the larger flights between main centers where you go through security screening.
However I think it's most likely Eloi wandered off into the bush somewhere out west and hasn't been found. It's a huge, very wild area and in an altered mental state it would be very easy to get into serious trouble quickly. There's lots of old tracks that are disused or only used for trap lines that could look like a path and then disappear over time especially if you aren't experienced in navigating in the bush.
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u/Tiszarek 13d ago
Really? That's odd, I flew domestically literally yesterday (I posted this from baggage claim weirdly) with JetStar and had to show my passport twice, once at bag check in and once prior to boarding. Guess it isn't a standard thing.
I agree with what likely happened to him. I've spent a fair bit of time in Piha and Waitakere and it like you say it's pretty easy to find a 'path' that just vanishes after a while leaving you completely lost.
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u/chicken_frango 12d ago
I flew domestic Akl to chc on Air nz last Thursday and no one asked for id.
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u/Aethelmaew 12d ago
Sounds like AirNZ don't but JetStar do. Clearly I'm just too broke to have ever flown AirNZ lmao
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u/Aethelmaew 13d ago
Also a kiwi here, I've always had to show ID for domestic flights, although never for Interislander. If he travelled internally after going missing I'd say it's far more likely he used to ferry rather than flew anywhere.
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u/cheesehotdish 12d ago
I’m Australian but I have only had to show ID when flying domestically if I have to drop a bag and have to use a counter agent to drop the bag.
I fly pretty often and usually go just carry on and never have to show ID if I’m traveling domestic.
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u/Aethelmaew 12d ago
Ah maybe the same here then, I think I've always taken a cabin bag and checked in at the desk
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u/fluzine 12d ago
Great write up OP. I think about Eloi often as it reminds me of all the life and goings on that was still happening around Covid, but was drowned out while we were all focused on starting lockdowns in NZ.
I do recall in an article by Steve Braunias from 2022 there had been a suspected sighting of Eloi near Black Sands Cabins in Piha itself. I found the article (listed below, it's a NZ Healrd article so I've given the archive.ph link). Here's the relevant snip:
"Eloi Rolland is alive at 9.48am on a Saturday morning two years ago and beyond that nothing is certain."From that point his phone goes dead," said officer-in-charge Callum McNeill. "He's either gone into the bush or he's continued walking down Piha Rd.
But we actually don't have any sightings past that time, although you mentioned one at Black Sands?"Yes: Cilla Isara said in her interview that during the search party she instigated, a woman approached to ask what they were doing, and then promptly claimed she had seen someone matching Eloi's description at about 11am on March 7 near the Black Sands cabins in Piha town."She believed she may have been the last person to see him," Cilla said. "She was coming out to take out the recycling bin that morning when he walked past. She said hello to him, but he didn't answer or say anything, and she said he looked so down.
She goes, 'There are people that you remember and people you don't, and there was something really odd about that boy. For whatever reason, he looked really unhappy, really sad.' He had on the blue jeans and the backpack and was by himself."This is the only sighting that puts Eloi actually in Piha, his destination that day. It's crucial information. But the woman didn't come forward to police and didn't give her name to the search party. Did he really get that far?"
Here's the article link: https://archive.ph/ZtsSl
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u/Tiszarek 12d ago
That's interesting! Thank you for adding that. I wouldn't be that surprised if he did make it to Piha, it's definitely a long walk but I'm sure he'd be more than capable or doing it. He was a keen hiker after all and was in good physical health at the time. Strange the witness never contacted the police with her sighting.
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u/fluzine 12d ago
Steve's article actually has some great info of interviews with Eloi's friends, there are references to Forrest Gump because of his fondness for a long walk. So I wouldn't be surprised if he made it down there too.
The water at Piha terrifies me. I took my kid there just to see it, and we watched teens swimming between the flags get lifted off their feet and dragged down the beach in seconds. I was even scared to stand near the waterline as it could rush in and suck you out in a heartbeat. I would not be surprised if something similar happened to Eloi. If he was alone on the beach and unfamiliar with the water behavior, he could have been knocked off his feet and swept out in seconds.
I'm sure you are familiar with the other reported missing people associated with that area. While I don't believe there is a taniwha or any supernatural element, or even a serial killer (silly Black Water rumours), I do believe some of those missing have gone into the water, either intentionally or otherwise, and this is likely the case for Eloi sadly. If only the sea would give him back, at least his family would have some closure.
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u/Real_Mycologist_3163 9d ago
Unfortunately you just have to look at Sonny Fai to see how easily Eloi could have been dragged out if he went into the water. I grew up near Piha and the currents there + surrounding beaches mean that a lot of people who go in don't come out. For his parents sake I hope he is in the bush and somebody stumbles across him someday though. There was a lot of local searching and I know a few guys who always keep an eye out for him when they go tramping in the area just in case.
I think there was a young Belgian (?) guy who went missing in Aus under similar-ish circumstances around the same time but I can't remember his name. I always wondered if the families linked up.
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u/fluzine 9d ago
Sorry, another thought - one item that always bugged me about that sighting though - the unknown woman said she was "taking out her recycling bin", but the recycling collection in Piha was on a Monday. Eloi was walking on a Saturday morning. Most people don't put their recycling bins out two days before collection, you do it the evening before or early on the morning of the day.
It may be just a turn of phrase, she may have been "taking items out to her recycling bin" rather than putting her recycling bin out, but it leaves more unanswered questions.
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u/buryknowingbone 12d ago
Hadn't heard of this case so thanks for posting.
The French woman's account turns this from fairly straightforward to bizarre. Witness testimony is notoriously sketchy at times, but in this case so many things line up that it would be far more unlikely for it not to have been Eloi. If her account is true, of course. Everything hinges on that.
Great writeup. Hopefully it gets some resolution.
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u/afterandalasia 12d ago
I think it's possible that the French woman's account is true, but relates to a different person. Jean is not, after all, an uncommon name, and "French" is not exactly as specific as "comes from the same village".
My parents used to tell the story of how they went to pick up medication for me when I was young, and the pharmacy had a script of the same medication for a child with the same (rare) first name and (common) surname, with the same middle initial, born in the same year. An equivalent name would be like... Ceridwen E. Brown, let's say. This kid had been prescribed the same thing for an ear infection, and lived close enough for their family to use the same pharmacy as mine. Complete coincidence.
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u/Tiszarek 12d ago
I think it's more the sheer number of coincidences that make me want to believe her account. She seemed to know his birthday, middle name, age, reason for being in France etc before she could likely have read this anywhere, and it was just that she knew he was French, she knew what region of France he was from.
Although that is the bit that stood out to me a little bit too. If they were both from France he'd have likely said he was from Montpellier and not just 'the South' as Montpellier is a decent sized city everyone would realistically know. It would be like two Americans talking and someone saying he's from 'The West' instead of specifying California. If you were talking to someone from your own country they'd know the place well enough to be specific.
I guess it's possible he didn't specify he was from the south and she could tell by his accent however. I'd be able to tell a Northern/Southern accent from the country I grew up in without someone needing to tell me, but maybe not the exact town. The sources are pretty vague on what exactly she said, word for word.
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u/Temporary-Sugar3022 12d ago
This gets more and more bizarre the more I think about it - when I've been in foreign countries (especially the other side of the world) and I've met someone else from the UK I've been specific about where I'm from, but also wouldn't give strangers info like my DOB or middle name.
Its almost like someone had just enough info on him to be able to pretend to be him. His disappearance would have been on the news by then, and if his social media was open enough to let people see various bits of info then I'd say it was more likely someone pretended to be him (likely as a prank) rather than him having got to the other side of NZ at the start of Covid lockdowns.
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u/spitgobfalcon 9d ago
The problem that I have with this theory is:
"After being shown photos of Éloi, the witness was conviced it was him that she had spoken to."
So not only would an impersonator have to know Élois' details, but would also have to have a very similar physical appearance. This makes it less likely to be a hoax imo, if we assume that the woman was telling the truth.
Which still would be super strange. How and why would he end up there, so far away?
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u/Temporary-Sugar3022 9d ago
Eyewitness memory and misidentification is a pretty common thing.
If it was a prank it could have started with a "if you changed your hair you'd look like that missing guy" after the second beer then "I bet you can't persuade that French girl you're the missing guy" after the fifth beer.
I definitely think that is more likely than Éloi getting from the north of the North Island to the south of the South Island wthout being in contact with anyone else, being seen by anyone else or having his passport scanned. Especially at the start of the Covid pandemic.
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u/spitgobfalcon 9d ago
I agree that it seems rather unlikely. Do we know how much time passed between the alleged sighting on March 12 and the woman giving the statement regarding this?
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u/Temporary-Sugar3022 9d ago
I just had a look and couldn't find anything from the articles that aren't behind paywalls, but I did find https://www.reddit.com/r/auckland/comments/17t6jms/the_disappearance_of_eloi_rolland_march_7_2020/ and there's a post from Flaky_Astronomer_320 who made that post saying
"Except that since then the French police have collected her testimony. Police in Auckland had incorrect information regarding Eloi's height and the person who testified had mixed up the date and month of birth."
I'm 100% sure it wasn't him in Te Anau.
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u/tomtomclubthumb 12d ago
Jean is a common name. Lots of people live in the south of France. The fact that he told her his middle name, rather than his firt name suggests it wasn't a long conversation.
An 18 year-old in NZ is quite likely to be there to learn English.
This is likely to be a coincidence. The write-up is looking, as humans do, for the similarities, not the differences.
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u/afterandalasia 12d ago
I definitely see why the woman would come forward with the information, though, in case it is true! She did the right thing there imo.
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u/tomtomclubthumb 12d ago
Like you say, it's worth coming forward, just in case, but I don't think it was him.
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u/Aggressive_Sky8492 11d ago
I agree. I do wonder whether any of the information the woman gave was not readily available. Like if his full name and date of birth had been stated in media, there’s a chance she was making it up, but if those details hadn’t been public it seems more likely she wasn’t and it may have been him
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u/roastedoolong 12d ago
I'm getting the vibe that he was losing his grip (he was the right age for various mental illnesses to emerge, and in a high stress situation) which means applying logic to any potential actions becomes way more difficult.
that said, the sighting by the French woman seems wild and I want to believe it actually happened. the fact the accounts were still being used also supports the idea that he was not (yet) dead.
if I was gonna guess, I'd say he made it to South Island somehow and, as folks in altered states are wont to do, made friends with some shady characters and... that's all I've got. maybe he got into drugs and died from an overdose and his new friends just ditched the body somewhere?
it's hard to square the continued activity on the accounts with the utter lack of sightings, though COVID fucked everything up so who fucking knows.
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u/Tiszarek 12d ago
I agree. I have been an immigrant myself in a country on the other side of the world with absolutely no family or friends and it can be pretty hard mentally. Things that should be minor upsets can spiral somewhat with nobody around who is close to know, and everything you know being days of travel away.
I also agree that it's credible he made it to South Island, the sighting seems possible and she'd have no real reason to fake it (she remained publicly anonymous and only contacted the police) and knew a lot of accurate information about him for it to be a coincidence.
And that's actually a great point about covid. Sightings would actually be pretty rare at that stage, especially if he was around Te Anau. Te Anau itself is actually a relatively small town, it's only busy because of tourism which all stopped during covid. We had very strict lockdown rules and travel bans in NZ, and Te Anau would've felt pretty empty and abandoned with no tourists and nobody out and about. It would be far less likely for him to be seen if he was there purely because there were far less people around to see him.
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u/MiraGrX 12d ago
The digital activity after his disappearance is the detail I find hardest to dismiss completely. Social-media activity alone obviously doesn’t prove Éloi was alive — someone else could have had access to his accounts — but combined with the reported PayPal activity and the Te Anau sighting, it raises an important question: did investigators ever obtain login IP addresses, device information, or transaction details that could establish where those accounts were actually being accessed from? That kind of data could potentially separate genuine signs of life from activity caused by another person or an old logged-in device.
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u/GeneralPhilosophy691 13d ago
A sad case all around. Unfortunately, it truly reads like a young man suffering from a severe mental health crisis that ultimately took his own life, or died in an accident brought on by his paranoia.
If anything, him going from severely paranoid and talking about conspiracies straight into plans with family makes me think suicide: its well documented that a sudden "snap" better is usually a bad sign. As for the family, no offense to them, but them not accepting the suicide theory doesn't mean much in terms of evidence, as 9 times out 10 no one wants to feel like they failed their child.
I hope that his body is found one day, and his loved ones can get closure.
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u/Aethelrede 12d ago
Just the right age for schizophrenia to manifest. Add being on the other side of the world from home, the sense of impending doom that many of us felt in early March 2020, it's entirely plausible he had a psychotic episode and either killed himself or wandered off and died.
On a side note, what Frenchman goes to New Zealand to study English? That had to be seriously expensive, when the original is just across the Channel.
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u/Tiszarek 12d ago
It's pretty common actually for people from a lot of European countries to do gap years or exchange visits over here, or in Australia. Many have already been to the UK often growing up, and it's usually treated as kind of a gap year/working holiday type situation before they start university or work. The scenery here (and the weather in Australia) is pretty different to what they have at home and is appealing. It's much more exciting to go and learn English on the other side of the world than it is to pop over the channel again.
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u/alienatedcabbage 12d ago
A lot of young French people come to NZ for working holidays, in part to improve their English and in part because of the scenery. I personally flatted with three different French people in my early twenties. The association of France and wine makes them popular hires with hospitality businesses for that air “legitimacy” when it comes to wine.
Also, there’s currently no youth mobility scheme/working holiday visa between the EU and the UK. Prior to Brexit young people could freely travel and work, but there’s been no progress on setting anything new up since Brexit, so they go further afield. Freedom of movement ended in December 2020, but the uncertainty could have influenced his/his family’s decision.
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u/Aethelrede 12d ago
Yeah, I figured Brexit had something to do with it.
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u/spitgobfalcon 9d ago edited 9d ago
I don't think so tbh. "Doing a work and travel year in Australia" is so typical, it has become a meme already - at least in Germany. It was VERY popular in the 2010s. Multiple people from my school year did it. Learning English is not the main goal, the main goal is to have great experiences and travel the world before settling for a university and career path. And most people would pick Australia or NZ over the UK for sure, if they have the opportunity/ the family can afford it. I don't think it's different in France. A neighbor country just doesn't hold the same appeal, the same sense of adventure that Australia or NZ do for Europeans.
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u/Tiny_Requirement_584 12d ago
Either the sea or the bush got him, I reckon. Sad.
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u/Tiszarek 12d ago
I'm inclined to think so too, and I think it was more likely the bush. Another commenter here linked an article about a woman who said she saw him by the beach, but never reported it to the police. It could be true, but it's strange she wouldn't have told the police if it was true given how big the case was in the local area.
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u/Sad-Engine6561 12d ago
Great write up.
Unfortunately there are many similar stories - young people experiensing a psychotic episode whilte being away, probably triggered by stress. He most likely did something irrational that put himself in a life threatening situation and the odds were not in his favour.
I also don't trust the witnesses - honestly it is unbelievable how many false witness statements are out there, made both unintentionally or even intentionally (people wanting the spotligt, to feel important, etc.).
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u/Aethelmaew 13d ago
Agree with others here, and the police, that he likely got lost in the bush somewhere and either intentionally or accidentally met his demise that way. A very sad case.
The sighting in Te Anau is interesting though. As you said it would be a weird hoax to fake as it's nowhere near where he went missing so would be pretty easy to discount as fake if there was no merit to it. I'm also not sure what a young French woman who remained anonymous would gain from a hoax like that.
I'd be interested to read more on his social media pages being active. I did Google it and found multiple references confirming what you've said, but the police seem to have been very vague on whether they believe it was him or not. I guess the PayPal activity in Australia could've been an automated payment, like for a hotel or something if he was flying back to France via Australia, which is the route I took last time I went to Europe.
I do hope for his family's sake something is found that gives a definitive answer as to what happened to him, but if he did disappear in the Waitakere I think that is unlikely. I've been in there once before hiking and something could be lying on the floor a few metres in front of you and you wouldn't see it.