THE MYSTERY of what happened to Zac Barnes has gripped the Hunter community for almost seven years, but his loved ones know there was so much more to him than his disappearance.
Zac's mother, Karen Gudelj, gave a moving statement on the final day of the inquest into his suspected death.
She said she felt in her heart her "little boy" was no longer alive, but prayed her family would be able to find answers and bring him home.
The 18-year-old from Metford vanished into bushland at Thornton on the evening of November 13, 2016.
"We deserve to be able to bury him and remember him ... that's the least we can do and that's what I'm fighting for," Ms Gudelj told the NSW Coroners Court in Sydney on Wednesday.
"Zac respected everyone, and he deserves to be respected.
"I pray that we get the answers that we need."
The emotional statement revealed how in Zac's early life, it was just him and his brothers and his mother against the world.
"We were everything to each other," she said.
It was a few years later that Zac met Michael Gudelj, who would become his stepdad, and became an older brother to two sisters.
"Zac would have done anything to help anyone ... he was such a loving, loving boy," Ms Gudelj told the inquest.
She painted a picture of a determined, clever and fun-loving young man who loved his friends and family, and was excelling in his bricklaying apprenticeship.
She warned other families that Zac's life had "turned very quickly" in the year before he went missing, and she worried it was because he wanted to be "that popular, social kid".
The inquest unravelled the moments before Zac disappeared, homing in on the final weekend he had spent with mates, drinking and socialising and taking some recreational drugs, before vanishing on the Sunday evening.
"We're here and we're talking a lot about the last days ... but he was so much more than that," Ms Gudelj said.
She played a slideshow of photos of her son to "show who Zac really was".
Zac's family attended the three-day inquest in Lidcombe, which examined his movements on that "fateful day" in November 2016, his behaviour, what had been going on in his life beforehand, and how the police response played out.
On Wednesday, the inquest heard from Zac's former boss and some of his close friends, and Ms Gudelj also gave evidence about her son's behaviour about the time he went missing.
The inquest earlier heard from the two people that are believed to be the last to see him alive, when he screamed to be let out of their car on Haussman Drive and walked off before 8pm on Sunday, November 13, 2016, saying he was going to a mate's place.
A years-long police investigation into what happened has involved police dogs and divers, CCTV, PolAir, and a coordinated multi-agency search.
Strike force detectives pursued lines of inquiry, while Zac's family and friends scoured bushland, though no trace of him has ever been found.
Some details of the case cannot be reported for legal reasons.
The inquest's evidence wrapped up before deputy state coroner Carmel Forbes on Wednesday, and she will now consider written submissions before making formal findings about whether Zac has died and how, as well as any recommendations.
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