The mother of magician Daniel Hidden has spoken for the first time since her son’s death, sharing heartbreaking details of the hours after he disappeared in remote bushland.
Coroner Reveals Fatal Injuries
Speaking exclusively to 7NEWS.com.au, his mother Faronak said the coroner told the family the 26-year-old suffered a devastating fall while climbing in rugged terrain near Cougal Cascades in the Gold Coast hinterland. She said the fall left him with a broken hip, leaving him unable to move before he succumbed to hypothermia in the remote rainforest.
“He wanted to climb, he fell down and he broke his hip,” she said. “Because his hip was broken he couldn’t move.” “Because that area was hidden, nobody knew that area, he couldn’t move and show himself to anybody. And then after a while, because of the cold weather, he had hypothermia.”
Hidden’s Connection to Nature
Faronak said Hidden often returned to a little-known, secluded waterfall he had discovered off the established walking tracks. She said her son had a deep connection with nature and regularly escaped to remote places to think through new magic performances and creative ideas. He even called a favourite spot at The Spit on the Gold Coast “my office”, telling his mother it was where many of his best ideas came to him.
The Search and Its Aftermath
Hidden, whose birth name was Daniel Jamshidi, vanished after heading to the Gold Coast hinterland on June 14. His body was found following a massive 10-day multi-agency search involving police, SES volunteers and Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel.
The days after Hidden disappeared remain almost impossible for his mother to describe. Rather than returning home each night, the family stayed beside his parked caravan, refusing to give up hope. “We never left that place where his caravan was,” Faronak said. “Me, my husband, his wife, we stayed there for a long time, just in hope he would come back. We thought maybe if he came back, he needs help. He’s tired, he’s hungry. It was so cold. During the night I just was telling myself, ‘My son is outside and it’s very cold’.”
No Phone, No Reception
Hidden left his phone inside his vehicle before setting off, something his mother said he often did because he preferred to disconnect from technology while spending time in nature. In any case, she said there was no mobile reception in the area. “Even when we were at that area near his caravan, we didn’t have any reception, the phone doesn’t work at all,” she said.
Gratitude and Unanswered Questions
Despite her overwhelming grief, Faronak said she remains deeply grateful to everyone involved in the search. “I appreciate the police and those volunteers from SES, military, everyone,” she said. “They tried and they did their best. It was a very big rainforest and it wasn’t easy. So I understand it wasn’t easy to find him.”
Learning what happened has given Faronak some answers and comfort, but she said she still needs to know how long her son lay injured before he died. “I asked them because it was important for me,” she said. “If he died early ... at least I knew he didn’t suffer a lot.”
Correcting Speculation
The grieving mother also wanted to correct one detail she believes has fuelled unnecessary speculation, saying Hidden did not leave home in the middle of the night intending to disappear. Instead, she said he left about 5.30am to watch the sunrise before driving to one of his favourite places. “That place was a place he loved,” she said. “He didn’t have a purpose of doing something wrong with himself.” She said both police and hospital reports concluded his fatal injuries were consistent with an accidental fall.
A Waterfall That Held Deep Meaning
The off-track waterfall where Hidden died held deep personal meaning for him, she explained. As a child growing up in Iran, he regularly visited Mount Tochal with close friends. After moving to Australia, he discovered a hidden waterfall near Cougal Cascades reminding him of those memories. He loved it so much he tattooed the GPS coordinates of the Australian location on one hand and the coordinates of Mount Tochal on the other. “He found this place and the waterfall is similar to the Tochal place,” Faronak said. “He loved this place because of his memories with his friends in Iran.”
Final Wishes
She said Hidden had often told family members if anything ever happened to him, he wanted his ashes divided between the two special places. The family is now trying to make that wish come true, with Faronak hoping to bring her brother, Jalal, from Iran to Australia. “My brother lives in Iran ... we want to make an application for him to come here and give him his ashes to spread in Tochal,” she said.
Keeping His Memory Alive
Faronak said she hopes the little-known waterfall Hidden discovered and returned to time and again will one day bear his name. “I want to continue his story,” she said. “His story hasn’t finished. He was so creative, so intelligent. I want to keep his name alive.”
