ALMOST six years after Dylan Dickie left a house at Cessnock on a motorbike and vanished, his family are no closer to finding out what happened to the "loving, kind and mischievous" 19-year-old.
An extensive inquest into the disappearance of Dylan Dickie was closed in Cessnock Coroner's Court on Friday, with Coroner Magistrate Andrew Miller finding the teenager had died sometime between when he was last seen on June 23, 2016, and when the motorbike was discovered abandoned in Corrabare State Forest, about 20 kilometres south-west of Cessnock, on July 3.
Mr Miller said there were three "possible outcomes" for how Dylan could have died; self-harm, misadventure or that a third party was involved. But he was not satisfied, based on the evidence during the inquest, that he could make any determination about the cause or manner of Dylan's death.
"As we stand here today, the avenues that could be investigated have been investigated and we are no closer to finding where Dylan's body is or how he died or the circumstances in which he died," Mr Miller said.
He apologised to Dylan's family, who had attended the inquest over a number of days since last year in the hope of finding answers, and said it was not the end of the police investigation and the inquest could be re-opened if further information came to light.
Dylan had been struggling with drug addiction and mental health issues in the weeks before he disappeared from the family home at Cessnock. He left the house without his mobile phone or overnight bag and it was later discovered that a Yamaha 250 trail bike, helmet and gloves were missing from the garage.
He was reported missing a few days later and a witness who owned a property near the state forest gave evidence that he had seen the motorbike on a dirt road on July 3.
He said he had driven that road the day before and had not seen the bike.
The witness mentioned the bike to two other men and one of them later took it back to his house.
That man later discovered the bike belonged to Dylan and spoke to police who launched an extensive search in the area where he said he had found it.
Police found the helmet, gloves and keys in the bush about 20 metres from the bike but despite three days of searching, including police dogs, helicopters and other resources, no other signs of Dylan were uncovered.
Over the years police and Dylan's family have received tips and information but they had all been followed up and the key questions remain.
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