Disappearance of Rachel Antonio

Rachel Joy Antonio (born 20 March 1982) was a student at Bowen State High School in the North Queensland town of Bowen. She was involved in Surf Life Saving Australia and the Australian Air Force Cadets, and had intended to pursue a career in the Australian Defence Force. On 24–25 April 1998, she took part in Anzac Day commemorations, attending a school ceremony, a dawn service, and a street parade.

At approximately 6pm on 25 April 1998, Antonio's mother dropped her at the Summer Garden Cinema in Bowen to see a screening of *Good Will Hunting*. The cinema owner, who knew Antonio, maintained she never watched the film. It was later determined she had instead walked to the end of Beach Avenue. Witnesses saw her leaving the beach at approximately 6:45pm, and she was last seen walking along Queen's Beach Esplanade. She has not been seen since.

Diary entries found after her disappearance appeared to suggest a sexual relationship between Antonio and Robert Hytch, a surf life saving captain. Hytch denied any relationship with Antonio or any involvement in her disappearance. He was charged with her murder and stood trial in 1999; a jury found him not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter, and he was sentenced to nine years in jail. The diary entries were ruled inadmissible at trial. Hytch served nine months before the conviction was overturned on appeal. He was tried again in 2001 and was acquitted.

Antonio's parents pushed for a coronial inquest, which was held across 2014 and 2015, spanning 12 days of hearings, 367 witness statements, more than 2,600 pages of transcripts, and examination of 60 witnesses. Coroner David O'Connell delivered his findings on 28 July 2016, concluding that Hytch had caused a fatal injury to Antonio during a physical altercation, that he had caused her death, and that he had hidden her body. O'Connell described blood from Antonio found on Hytch's reef sandals as "significant." He rejected Hytch's denial of a relationship with Antonio and referred him to the Director of Public Prosecutions to investigate a possible perjury charge. O'Connell was unable to determine the precise cause of death or where Antonio's remains were located, suggesting possibilities including a shallow grave near Kings Beach or disposal at sea. Hytch's attempt to overturn the inquest findings was unsuccessful, and the findings were upheld by the Supreme Court in April 2018.

Antonio's body has never been found. A $250,000 reward is offered by the Queensland Police Service for information leading to the location of her remains; the reward was originally offered for information on her killer but was refocused in 2014 toward recovery of her remains. Her parents have declined to hold a memorial service until her remains are found and light a candle each Anzac Day in her memory. In 2016, a five-part true crime podcast on the case was produced by journalist David Murray.