True Crime – New Phone Evidence Sheds Light on Celine Cremer’s Final Movements

The hunt to find out what happened to Celine Cremer has burst into life, more than two years after the Belgian backpacker went missing in rugged Tasmanian bushland.

A renewed search party, which included some of her friends from Belgium, began scouring the area around Philosopher Falls (her last known location) on December 13.

On the first day of the search, the group was sifting through an area about 300 metres away from a walking track when they found Ms Cremer’s mobile phone.

The miraculous discovery led Tasmania Police to rejoin the search effort, and days later a water bottle and potential makeshift poncho were also found in the dense bushland.

The search has now been put on pause, while police forensically examine the items to see if they can uncover any more clues as to Ms Cremer’s fate.

For those deeply invested in the search, the discoveries have confirmed theories and allowed them to better trace the Belgian’s movements.

So here’s what we know so far.

Mapping out her final known movements

With permission from her family, those independently searching for Ms Cremer were given access to her mobile phone data, recovered from online servers.

This data includes specific GPS coordinates from when she used Google Maps, which can be used to trace her movements on the afternoon of her disappearance.

Tasmanian filmmaker Rob Parsons has been documenting his search for Ms Cremer and analysed the GPS data from June 17, 2023 on his YouTube channel.

He said it shows the Belgian, who had been solo travelling around Tasmania, left the car park and began walking on the track to Philosopher Falls at about 2:18pm.

The pings go dark for a period, presumably while she is walking on the trail and not using her phone, before they re-appear at a location well beyond the waterfall at 3:32pm.

Mr Parsons said this shows that Ms Cremer, for an unknown reason, ventured beyond the falls along an old water race instead of following the path back to the car park.

The GPS data suggests that after a period of walking along this trail, the Belgian pulled out her phone and began using Google Maps to find her way back.

She began to retrace her steps along the water race, but at 3:40pm she suddenly diverted south and began travelling through thick vegetation and eventually up a hill.

Footage of this area shows it is incredibly dense and at times almost impossible to navigate, with moss-covered logs and boulders scattered across the terrain.

The data suggests that after reaching the top of the hill, Ms Cremer briefly began to walk down the other side before turning around and once again starting to retrace her steps.

It was at this moment the final GPS ping was sent from her phone — at 4:18pm.

Discoveries support leading theory

Since her disappearance, the leading theory regarding Ms Cremer’s fate was that she had wandered off the track and become lost in the thick bushland.

This theory was strongly supported by the GPS coordinates from her mobile phone, which clearly outlined her venture through thick vegetation.

Ken Gamble, a private investigator who has played a key role in the search, said this hypothesis appears to have been confirmed by the discovery of her mobile phone.

“It further proves the very strong theory that she has become lost and disoriented on a freezing cold, wet night in the middle of winter in that forest,” Mr Gamble said.

Mr Gamble and Mr Parsons both believe that Ms Cremer initially walked away from the trail after looking at Google Maps and seeing that her car was directly south.

They believe she either attempted to take a shortcut through the bushland or lost track of the trail as light faded and conditions deteriorated.

It is not known whether she was walking on the water race, which eventually leads to Magnet Dam, on purpose or if she simply missed the entrance to Philosopher Falls.

What does the phone discovery tell us?

The mobile phone was found about 70 metres east of the final GPS ping in an area with a “thick wall of horizontal scrub”, according to Mr Parsons.

Searchers believe Ms Cremer potentially put her phone in her pocket while attempting to scramble through this vegetation, and that it later slipped out.

The discovery of the phone appears to disprove a previous theory that the device stopped emitting GPS pings due to the Belgian entering an area with no signal.

“Since finding the phone last Saturday, we have changed our theory a little bit because now we’re not just looking at areas that had no phone coverage,” Mr Gamble said.

The phone, which has been confirmed to belong to Ms Cremer, was rusted and significantly damaged after more than two years exposed to the elements.

Tasmania Police have taken the device away to try and extract data, with the hope that information stored within the phone could help uncover more clues.

Mr Gamble said it could include helpful information such as photos, videos or audio recordings from the day of her disappearance.

“There could be some good information on there that may help us to determine what her intentions were going in there that day,” he said.

What about the water bottle and poncho?

A water bottle and a garbage bag were discovered next to a fallen tree about 300 metres east of where Ms Cremer’s mobile phone was found.

The garbage bag featured a large hole on one end, which searchers believe suggests it could have been used as a makeshift poncho in rainy weather.

The items are not confirmed to have belonged to Ms Cremer, though Tasmania Police will send them off to a laboratory for DNA testing.

Searchers said the water bottle brand matches those sold in a restaurant Ms Cremer worked at prior to her disappearance and its expiry date suggests it was bought in 2023.

As the items were found next to a natural windbreak, Mr Parsons theorised that the Belgian may have “bunkered down there” for the night.

If this proves to be correct, it could disprove the theory that Ms Cremer died on the first night due to hypothermia.

Mr Gamble and Mr Parsons both said this may further complicate the search for her remains, as she may have travelled further into the bush before she died.

“I believe the chance is now greater that she has potentially got through the night … and that she has moved more and more into a remote location,” Mr Gamble said.

“It would strongly indicate at this point that she’s gone into an area outside of that immediate black spot we were looking at.

Could someone have abducted her?

Tasmania Police considered the possibility of foul play early in its investigation, but no evidence suggesting anything along those lines was ever found.

The independent searchers have also ruled out the possibility, prioritising the clear GPS evidence which shows her journey off the walking track.

“There has been some level of miscommunication with some people who just don’t want to look at facts,” Mr Parsons said.

“Those are the people who have pushed the conspiracy theory that she’s been abducted or whatever because she was a single, attractive young lady.

This was supported by Mr Gamble, who said there was “not one skerrick of evidence” to suggest any sort of foul play.

What happens now?

While some independent searches in the area may continue, the official search for Ms Cremer has been suspended while the discovered items are forensically examined.

Mr Gamble said search crews had systematically sifted through more than 40 hectares of land across the “very dense forest” near Philosopher Falls.

“We’re going to put those maps together now and we’re going to look at what are the possibilities of her walking out … and what directions could she have gone,” he said.

The private investigator said it was understood that it could take months for the forensic testing result to be returned, as the case may not be granted the highest priority.

He said the searchers were happy with the discoveries but ultimately disappointed they could not deliver more to Ms Cremer’s family in Belgium.

“Everyone wanted to get closure for the family, this is what was driving everyone,” Mr Gamble said.