Two teenagers from Queensland have been charged with murder after an Uber driver, who had been missing for a week, was found dead near a boat ramp.
The body of 47-year-old Uber driver Scott Cabrie, from Hervey Bay, was found dumped on Fraser coast in North Brisbane on Sunday morning.
He was last seen leaving a Toogoom home at about 6pm on February 6.
On February 7, Cabrie’s burnt-out car was found near Wieland Road at Pacific Haven which sparked a police investigation.
Four days later, Cabrie was reported missing as friends wrote on social media that his disappearance was “very out of character”.
“Come home mate where are you,” one friend posted on Facebook on Sunday morning, just hours before his body was found.
Police allege Cabrie was killed by two teenage boys, aged 17 and 18, during an Uber trip.
The 17-year-old was arrested at a Pacific Haven address on Sunday morning and has been charged with murder, arson and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
The 18-year-old, from Sunshine Acres, has been charged with murder, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, arson, armed robbery and deprivation of liberty by unlawfully detaining someone.
Both teenagers have been refused bail and will appear before Hervey Bay Children’s Court on Monday.
Tributes have begun pouring in online for Scott Cabrie as friends mourn his death.
“This whole town loved and respected him,” one friend wrote on Facebook.
“I called him the mayor of Hervey Bay. The guy was loved and respected around town.”
A woman who claimed Cabrie was her Uber driver said the news of his death felt like “a nightmare”.
“You were and forever will be my favourite Uber driver that always got me to where I needed,” she wrote.
“Thank you for being there during my hardest times and being so comforting towards me, reminding me that ‘everything will be ok’.”
Local restaurant Paolo’s Pizza Bar also uploaded a tribute to Cabrie, who the business said was a regular customer staff were very fond of.
“It is with heavy hearts we acknowledge the untimely death of a much loved and very special man Scott Cabrie,” its Facebook page wrote.
“We will miss his weekly visits. Fettuccinne Bolognese was his favourite dish which kept him going through his late evening shifts.
“Scott’s easy faint nature and beaming smile charmed everyone he encountered.”
Investigations into Cabrie’s death are still ongoing and have involved police officers, drones, water police and SES volunteers.
Police urge anyone with information or dashcam footage of a blue 2017 Nissan X-Trail with the Queensland registration 675YVF on Torbanlea Pialba Road between 11pm and midnight on February 6 to contact Policelink via the online suspicious activity form or call 131 444.
