Australian authorities are intensifying efforts to locate 17-year-old Pheobe Bishop, who has been missing for five days after failing to board a scheduled flight from Bundaberg, Queensland, to Brisbane on Thursday, May 15.
According to Queensland Police, Pheobe was dropped off around 8:30 a.m. local time at Airport Drive near Bundaberg Airport. However, she never boarded her flight and has not been seen or heard from since. In a public appeal issued on Monday, May 19, police confirmed a land search had been carried out in the surrounding areas but turned up no trace of the missing teen or her belongings.
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Detective Acting Inspector Ryan Thompson told ABC News that Pheobe had been dropped off by “associates” but did not enter the terminal building. “She had a flight booked to Brisbane and then on to Western Australia to visit a friend,” Thompson said.
It remains unclear whether Pheobe left the airport voluntarily or encountered foul play. Authorities are now reviewing CCTV footage and conducting interviews to piece together her last known movements. “Police are conducting inquiries with the airport and CCTV footage to try and narrow down her movements from when she was last seen,” Thompson added.
“As time goes on, the more worried the family is and the more concerned police are becoming,” he continued, highlighting the urgency of the investigation.
Queensland Police shared a physical description of Pheobe, noting she is approximately 180 cm tall (around 5 feet 9 inches), with a pale complexion, long dyed red hair, and hazel eyes. She was last seen carrying luggage and wearing a green tank top with grey sweatpants.
Police are urging the public to come forward with any information and specifically appealed for dashcam footage from drivers who may have been in the Airport Drive or Samuels Road areas between 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. on May 15.
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“Police and family hold concerns for her welfare as her disappearance is out of character,” the police statement read. “Anyone with information regarding the girl’s whereabouts is urged to contact police.”
Meanwhile, Pheobe’s mother, Kylie Johnson, has taken to social media in a heartfelt plea for her daughter’s safe return. “My heart is breaking and so are those of her siblings, her family, and our friends,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
“If you knew Pheobe, you would know that she is free-spirited and loves hard! She is loyal to the core and cutthroat. She would never leave her family without contact,” Johnson said.
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