Human bones found on Shelly Beach have been confirmed to be the bones of missing man Erwan Ferrieux.

Statistics suggest there is a very slim chance that three backpackers — from the UK, France and Belgium — all met misadventure at beach towns on the NSW coast within four months.

There’s just as much chance that Theo Hayez, Hugo Palmer and Erwan Ferrieux fell victim to a serial killer hunting foreign tourists, according to one of Australia’s leading forensic psychologists.

Forensic psychologist Tim Watson-Munro shared his thoughts on the trio’s mysterious disappearances with The Daily Telegraph today.

He says there’s a chance the three men disappeared in circumstances that are not malicious, but authorities should not discount orchestrated foul play.

“You cannot discount the fact that you have three young men of very similar profiles who have gone missing or are dead from two coastal towns which in the scheme of Australia’s geography are quite close,’’ he told the newspaper.

“Statistically the odds of three backpackers missing in the same region in a short space of time is very unlikely and we know that these type of killers prey on vulnerable people or those that are likely not been missed for some time.”

NSW Police told said they have not made any links between the three disappearances and that they have not found anything that indicates foul play.

Mr Ferrieux, 20, and Mr Palmer, 20, were travelling together when they both disappeared in February. They had visited a number of landmarks since arriving in the country in December.

Pictures showed the pair at the Blue Mountains and on surf trips together.

They went into the water near Port Macquarie on February 17 and nobody saw them come out. Walkers found their belongings on the beach about 6.30am the following morning, and a search of the nearby area located the pair’s van.

Inside were their belongings, including travel documents and ID.

Neither of the two men have been seen since, but police said earlier this week that bones discovered at a beach on the NSW mid-north coast were matched to Mr Ferrieux.

Mr Hayez was he last of the three to go missing. The Belgian backpacker, 18, was last seen on May 31 at Cheeky Monkeys nightclub in Byron Bay, 315km from where the other two men disappeared.

When he did not return to his accommodation on June 6, a missing persons report was filed.

Theo’s parents joined the plea for information about their loved one, but police have no new leads.

His father, Laurent Hayez, broke down when begging the public for help earlier this month.

“When I left Belgium I promised Theo’s little brother, Lucas, I would bring his brother home, please help me keep my promise to him,” he told reporters at a press conference.

“We know that Theo used WhatsApp the night he disappeared. We understand the politics about confidentiality and respect that. However, this is a question of providing assistance to a person in grave danger.

“It is vital that investigators get access to Theo’s WhatsApp account without delay. Every minute counts.”

For more on Mr Watson-Munro’s theory, visit The Daily Telegraph.

Anyone with information about the three missing men should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.