Police did not investigate the disappearance of a known gay man because they believed his body would turn up eventually, an inquiry will be told.
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Ross Warren was a newsreader for Channel WIN4 in Wollongong when he vanished in July 1989 after a night out with friends.
His disappearance will be probed at the NSW special inquiry into LGBTQI hate crimes on Thursday.
Mr Warren spent the night drinking with mates Craig Ellis and Paul Saucis in Sydney's Redfern before driving to Oxford Street to meet a co-worker, who last saw him driving towards Paddington.
When Mr Warren failed to show for work on July 23, Mr Ellis and Mr Saucis reported him missing to police at Paddington.
The two then searched for Mr Warren and found his car near well-known gay beat Marks Park at Bondi.
Mr Warren's keys were discovered in the park the next day.
His family and employer knew Mr Warren to be gay, and friends were also aware he occasionally attended beats like Marks Park.
Despite concerns he had been murdered, detectives were of the opinion Mr Warren had "fallen into the ocean in some manner and it is anticipated that in the near future his body will surface and be recovered", according to then sergeant Ken Bowditch in a written submission to the inquiry.
His body has never been found.
John Russell and Gilles Mattaini died or disappeared in similar circumstances.
Mr Mattaini was a 27-year-old Frenchman who lived with his partner in Bondi and was last seen walking there in September 1985.
Mr Russell was a barman at the Bronte Bowling Club who lived with his brother Peter at Bondi.
On the evening of November 22, 1989 he went for drinks with friends but after leaving the Bondi Hotel about 11pm, wasn't seen alive again.
It is believed both men were murdered.
The inquiry into LGBTQI hate crimes has been examining the unsolved deaths of 88 gay men between 1970 and 2010.
The latest block of hearings ends this week.
The commissioner, Supreme Court Justice John Sackar, will deliver a final report in August.
- Australian Associated Press
