The disappearance of 25-year-old FIFO worker William Patrick Carter—known as Bill—has baffled investigators and his family since December 6, 2025, when he vanished after telling loved ones he was boarding a flight back to his Pilbara mine site. But a resurfaced witness account, initially logged and overlooked, is now breathing new life into the case, placing Carter alone on Trigg Beach hours after he was dropped at Perth Airport, walking slowly along the shoreline as daylight faded.

Carter’s mother, Bunbury nurse Jenny O’Byrne, dropped him outside Terminal 3 around 12:40 p.m. that Saturday after a family brunch. He posed for a smiling selfie, carrying only a small backpack, dressed in a black t-shirt, shorts, and white sneakers. He was due on a 2:15 p.m. flight to Karratha for his next roster—but he never checked in or boarded. Instead, police revealed days later, Carter lingered at the airport before hailing a taxi around 2:10 p.m. to Trigg Beach in Perth’s northern suburbs.

The forgotten sighting? A witness reported seeing a man matching Carter’s description near the Trigg Surf Life Saving Club around 2:40 p.m., strolling solitary along the water’s edge in a manner described as contemplative or distressed. At the time, with no immediate reason to connect it to the airport drop-off, the report was noted but not prioritized. Now, as the search enters its second week with no trace—no phone activity, bank transactions, or CCTV beyond the taxi drop—detectives are reevaluating this moment as potentially pivotal. “The timeline never added up fully,” a police source told media. “Why detour to the beach instead of flying? This sighting may explain the disconnect.”

Carter, a slim-built 174cm man with brown hair and blue eyes, had recently returned from a family trip to Zambia and was coming off anti-anxiety medication. His mother has voiced grave concerns for his mental health, calling the disappearance “completely out of character” for her quiet, hardworking son. Partner Janae Williamson and employer confirmed he never arrived at the mine. Family emphasized their financial stability, ruling out money troubles, but hinted at a possible “situational crisis” impacting his outlook.

The case has sparked intense public interest, with social media flooded by appeals and theories. Reddit threads in r/perth discuss FIFO life’s isolating toll, with users noting many coastal disappearances in the city. Police urge anyone at Trigg Beach that afternoon to come forward, particularly with dashcam or phone footage.

Why the ocean? Why skip the flight? Questions mount as searches continue by land, air, and sea. Carter’s loved ones cling to hope, but the solitary beach walk—dismissed once, central now—casts a haunting shadow over what may have been his final hours.

As Western Australia rallies with vigils and shares, one thing’s clear: Bill Carter didn’t vanish at the airport. The answers may lie in the fading light along Trigg’s shores.