Bennett Campbell Dominick, known as Ben, disappeared after travelling to the Coocoran opal fields near Lightning Ridge on 10 January 2015.
Three days later, his green Ford Falcon was found at an electrical substation on Onyx Street in Lightning Ridge. Ben was not inside. His phone, wallet, keys, hunting knife, food, money, and tobacco were found in the car. The car also contained White Ox tobacco, a brand witnesses said Ben did not use.
The New South Wales State Coroner later found that Ben died on or shortly after 10 January 2015 in the Coocoran Opal Fields. The cause and manner of death could not be determined.
The findings considered several possibilities, including foul play, suicide, and misadventure. The coroner could not exclude those possibilities, but did not find that any person had intentionally killed Ben. The matter was recommended for referral to the Unsolved Homicide Team.
The inquest also examined the early police response. The coroner found deficiencies in the missing person investigation, including the handling of the car, the failure to complete a written risk assessment, delayed CCTV inquiries, and the lack of early documented searches.
Ben's disappearance remains unresolved. No final account explains what happened to him after the last reported sighting, or how his car came to be left at the substation.