The mother of a teenager who has not been seen for 11 days after traveling to the airport to fly to meet her boyfriend has spoken out about her family’s ordeal.
Pheobe Bishop, 17, has not been seen or heard from in nearly two weeks after leaving her home in Gin Gin, Queensland, Australia, on May 15.
The teen was due to board the 8:30 a.m. flight to Brisbane, and then to Perth so that she could reportedly visit her boyfriend.
However, she never checked in, and CCTV footage showed that she did not enter the terminal.
According to The Independent, Pheobe was driven to the airport by her housemates, who were initially questioned about her disappearance before being released.
Later, one of her family members said that she'd never checked in for her flight, stating: "Her phone has been switched off from this point. She hasn't contacted anyone at all, no one has seen her."
Then on May 23, the police revealed that an item of interest had also been found inside a national park and they seized a grey Hyundai ix35, labelling it an 'active crime scene'.
The Good Night Scrub National Park is just one hour from where Pheobe was last seen, with Detective Acting Inspector Ryan Thompson noting via The Mirror: "Police are trying to nail down the timeline to where this vehicle has gone. We do have associates that are assisting police with our inquiries at the moment, and this is why we're trying to narrow down that timeline in relation to where Pheobe could be."
According to The Independent, some items have been taken from the area.
“Some items, believed to be linked to the investigation, have been located during the search and have been seized for forensic examination,” as per a police statement. “Police have now expanded the search area and have renewed their appeal for information after recent investigations show some evidence may have been moved from the Good Night Scrub area, prior to police arrival.”
After so many questions having gone unanswered, Pheobe’s mother, Kylie Johnson, has spoken of the family’s ordeal, calling it a ‘cyclone of uncertainty’.
Posting on social media, Johnson wrote of how Pheobe’s brother has questioned why she won’t answer their calls.
She wrote on Facebook: “As we enter day 11 of Pheobe still not being home our numbness to our tears, to our hearts breaking and this hell is heavy. Not knowing what to say, what to do or even how to continue to live in this cyclone of uncertainty.”
She added that it has brought forth a lot of emotions, writing: “The tears come, the anger and frustrations come and most of all our hearts are shattering more and more each Day.”
The mother explained: “Your little man/brother asked yesterday ‘Why won”t Phee take our calls? She always takes our calls!’ Mate i wish i knew but we have to believe that the police and the lights that our amazing community are leaving on will going to bring her home to us.”
Johnson previously spoke about how her daughter's disappearance is 'out of character', stating that she would ‘never not touch base with the people she loves’.
Right now, the people of Gin Gin are taking part in a ‘leave the lights on’ initiative to light the way for Pheobe to come home.