![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/my-brit-son-vanished-on-gap-year/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/newspress-collage-23837940-1694096682128.jpg&description=Exclusive MUM'S PAIN Published : 7:19, 10 Sep 2023 WHEN Tania MacNabb hugged her son goodbye at the airport as he headed off backpacking, she didn't realise it would be the last hug they ever shared. Her son, Hugo Palmer , 20, had been saving for months to go on an adventure of a lifetime to Australia with four of his friends. 5 Hugo Palmer, 20, saved for months to go on an adventure of a lifetime to Australia with his pals Credit: Supplied 5 Hugo's mum said leaving Australia after her son went missing was the hardest thing she's ever had to do Credit: Supplied But their travels ended in tragedy after Hugo and his best friend, Erwan Ferrieux, vanished three months into the trip and never returned. Their belongings were found on a beach in New South Wales, leading police to believe they had drowned after being dragged underwater by dangerous riptides – well known by locals, but not by tourists. Tragically, Hugo's body was never recovered, and Tania and her family were only able to hold a proper funeral with a single bone that had been recovered – which was discovered after having been gnawed by a shark. And the mystery deepened when cops confirmed Hugo was dead before his body was likely eaten by a shark - leaving his family with few clues on his cause of death. His heartbroken mum Tania has bravely decided to speak out to warn thousands of teens about to set off on gap year adventures. She claims the beach Hugo died at lured in tourists without properly warning them of the dangers. Speaking from her home in Forest Row, Sussex, Tania said: "He was so excited for his life to begin, he wanted to go and have this huge adventure – and it was all snatched away from him. "The last phonecall I had with him, I lectured him about driving safely – I wish I had known instead to warn him about this." Riptides can flow at up to 5mph – faster than an Olympic swimmer – dragging even the most experienced swimmers away from the shoreline and leaving them exhausted. Tania has since di){kind=link}
WHEN Tania MacNabb hugged her son goodbye at the airport as he headed off backpacking, she didn’t realise it would be the last hug they ever shared.
Her son, Hugo Palmer, 20, had been saving for months to go on an adventure of a lifetime to Australia with four of his friends.
But their travels ended in tragedy after Hugo and his best friend, Erwan Ferrieux, vanished three months into the trip and never returned.
Their belongings were found on a beach in New South Wales, leading police to believe they had drowned after being dragged underwater by dangerous riptides – well known by locals, but not by tourists.
Tragically, Hugo’s body was never recovered, and Tania and her family were only able to hold a proper funeral with a single bone that had been recovered – which was discovered after having been gnawed by a shark.