TEENAGER Zac Erin Barnes seemingly vanished without a trace.
An inquest into the disappearance and suspected death of the Metford 18-year-old opened in the NSW Coroners Court in Sydney on Monday, aiming to shed light on one of the Hunter's enduring mysteries.
The three-day inquest is expected to examine what Zac's movements were 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.
The court heard Zac has not been seen or heard from in more than six years.
His family has been calling for answers, and his mother Karen Gudelj, stepfather and siblings were in court for the proceedings.
Ms Gudelj said outside court she just wanted to bring her boy home, whether he was alive or not.
"The focus of this inquest ... is what happened to Zac Barnes," counsel assisting the coroner Tim Hammond said.
"The uncertainty of his whereabouts is a hole with his family and friends that never leaves."
Mr Hammond said Zac was last seen by two of his friends on the night of November 13, 2016, when he ran into bushland in the Thornton area, near Maitland.
"Zac was not the type of person to remain out of contact with his family for a long time ... it must be concluded that Zac has passed away," he said.
Mr Hammond said one of the most important findings the court will have to make is whether Zac has been seen or heard from since November 13, 2016.
All "sign of life checks" - like phone records and bank statements - have failed to turn up anything.
While Zac's identity is not in question, Mr Hammond said the date, time, place and cause of his suspected death "may not be so easy to determine".
"This is a very sad case and some of the details of this tragedy will be distressing," he said.
The inquest heard the then 18-year-old apprentice bricklayer was living in Metford, Maitland, with his family when he vanished.
"Zac was a loving son, brother, and friend. He was larger than life. His absence leaves a large gap for those who love him," Mr Hammond said.
Zac, known as a social teenager, had been with friends the night he disappeared.
The inquest heard he had been in a car with two others when he became distressed and asked the driver to pull over and let him out as they travelled along Haussman Drive at Thornton.
It was about 7.41pm when he left the car, and ran off north towards bushland.
"This was the last reported sighting of Zac," Mr Hammond said.
His friends looked for him at the time, and he was reported missing to Maitland police the next day.
The police investigation will be looked at as part of the inquest, and the detective in charge of the case was called as a witness on Monday afternoon to detail some of the paths of inquiry police went down over the years.
The inquest heard that in the months after Zac went missing, police dogs were called in to help search bushland around Thornton, divers searched dams between where he was last seen and his home, and CCTV was collected.
A multi-agency land and air search was conducted on November 21, 2016, with PolAir, the Rural Fire Service and the State Emergency Service assisting.
Questions were raised about why it took eight days for the coordinated search to take place, and how the urgency of the search was assessed.
Zac's friends and family searched for him as detectives followed lines of investigation.
Mr Hammond said the inquest was not about attributing fault, but the coroner would have the opportunity to make recommendations at the end of the inquest.
Deputy state coroner Carmel Forbes told Zac's family they would be given an opportunity to "bring the individual to life" at the end of evidence, with a statement and photos if they wished.
"Everybody here respects that for you, it's such a personal grief and we will do what we can to honour that," she said.
The inquest is expected to call 10 witnesses, including people who had contact with Zac on the day he disappeared, and continues in Lidcombe on Tuesday.
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