As you’ve no doubt heard by now
, Trent Riley went out fishing on April 14, 2021, and he has been missing ever since. Trent’s boat, ‘Lydia’, was found that afternoon in Moreton Bay, near Mud Island. Nobody was aboard, but the boat was still driving, unmanned and uncontrolled. Just hours earlier, Trent had posted an Instagram Story revealing calm conditions out on the water and nice weather. A few days later, Trent’s hat was recovered in the water, but no other trace of him has been found since then. And it wasn’t for lack of trying.
The search mission for Trent spanned 11 days, involving hundreds of volunteers, scores of boats, jet skis, kayaks, helicopters and a $73k GoFundMe campaign. The Queensland Water Police, the Coast Guard, and Volunteer Marine Rescue Teams cooperated with volunteers to find Trent. Each day, 50 to 100 people were rocking up at the Port of Brisbane with whatever watercraft they could get their hands on, ready to contribute to the search efforts. Boats patrolled Moreton Bay, and maps of different areas to search were distributed via a Facebook group called ‘Let’s Find Trent Riley’ (which has since been changed to ‘Be Like Trent’). Trent’s friends combed every treacherous inch of Mud Island by foot, at
