Perth, Western Australia – Five days after 25-year-old fly-in fly-out (FIFO) mine worker Bill Carter vanished from Perth Airport, his family is clinging to fading hope while being tormented by a comment he made just hours before he disappeared.
In an emotional interview with 9News on December 10, Bill’s older sister Sarah Carter, 28, broke down as she revealed the chilling sentence her brother said over brunch that morning: “Sometimes you just need to disappear for a bit.”
“We laughed it off at the time, blaming FIFO burnout,” Sarah said through tears. “We should have seen the sign.”
Bill, a slim-built with brown hair and blue eyes, was dropped off by his mother Jenny O’Byrne at Terminal 3 at 12:40 p.m. on December 6, 2025, for a 2:15 p.m. flight to Karratha to start his 12-days-on shift at Fenner Dunlop mine. He never boarded. His phone last pinged at 1:05 p.m. and was switched off by 1:45 p.m. There has been no activity since.
Western Australia Police say the disappearance is “completely out of character” and have launched an extensive search involving drones, dive teams, and canine units. CCTV shows Bill entering the terminal with only a small 5-litre backpack – most of his belongings were already at the mine site. His wallet and car keys remain at the family home in Bunbury.
Jenny, a 39-year-old nurse, revealed Bill had recently stopped taking his anti-anxiety medication and had been struggling mentally after a break-up and a trip to visit his father in Zambia. “The FIFO lifestyle breaks people,” Sarah said. “He earned good money – around AU$160,000 a year – but the loneliness was killing him.”
Mental health experts note a worrying trend: at WA mine sites, with at least 10 suicides linked to FIFO workers since 2020, according to the Black Dog Institute.
A Facebook page “Bring Bill Carter Home” has gained over 5,000 followers, and a GoFundMe for private search costs has already raised $10,000, with donors describing Bill as “the kindest soul you could ever meet.”
Police are urging anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers on 131 444 immediately.
“The next 48 hours are critical,” Detective Sergeant Mark Gregson warned.
As Perth swelters through summer, the Carter family waits for a miracle, haunted by Bill’s final words – a cry for space, or a heartbreaking goodbye?
Source: 9News Western Australia (10 December 2025), WA Police media statements (6–11 December 2025), Black Dog Institute FIFO mental health reports.
Police have revealed new details on the movements of a missing FIFO worker who failed to board a flight in Perth and instead took a cab to the beach.
William Carter smiled in a photo with his mum before she dropped the 25-year-old off outside Perth Airport T3 about 12.40pm (GMT) on Saturday so he could travel to the Pilbara for his working stint.
But he never made the flight and has not been heard from since.
Today, police shared that Carter was at the airport for an hour and a half before he left in a taxi about 2.10pm and travelled to Trigg Beach.
He arrived about 30 minutes later and was last seen near a surf club on West Coast Drive, which stretches from South Trigg to Sorrento.
He was carrying a small backpack and wearing a black t-shirt, shorts and black and white sneakers at the time.
His family and police have serious concerns about his welfare, and anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to immediately contact 131 444.