The family of Pheobe Bishop’s flatmate have broken their silence, revealing that they tried to raise the alarm with authorities before the 17-year-old’s suspicious disappearance.
Pheobe had been living in a run-down property in Gin Gin, near Bundaberg, with Tanika Bromley and her partner, James Wood. Police allege the couple were the last people to see her alive on the morning of May 15.
The Gin Gin property was later declared a crime scene, and on Friday, police expanded their search to the nearby Good Night Scrub National Park, about 40km south of the town. More than 40 SES volunteers resumed the search on Saturday.
Before she vanished, Pheobe was due to fly from Bundaberg to Western to visit her boyfriend.
It is believed Ms Bromley and Mr Wood drove her to the airport, but police say she never checked in or boarded her 8.30am flight – and has not been seen since.
On Thursday, Daily Mail revealed Ms Bromley is facing unrelated charges for possessing a sawn-off shotgun and a flick knife in public.
Now, Ms Bromley’s brother, Sean, has come forward, claiming his family had serious concerns about the welfare of those at the Gin Gin property and went to the police.
‘It’s about time I say something,’ he said.
‘I’m ashamed my family’s name is now getting dragged through the mud because of one particular person.’
He goes on to discuss his sister’s recent run-ins with the law, explaining she was out on bail at the time of Pheobe’s disappearance.
‘I was worried about my nephews and everything that I had been hearing and what those boys had gone through.’
According to Mr Bromley, he spoke to an investigations team regarding his concerns.
‘I wasn’t the only one putting these complaints in,’ he continued.
‘Especially considering how many times those two have been reported to authorities, welfare and the animal protection service,’ he said.
‘I even contacted the media by email, had even attached a photo of her court charges, and no one did a thing.’
Mr Bromley added that his mother is now helping police with their enquiries, but they would appreciate it if she was ‘left alone’.
‘My heart goes out to this girl and her family, and I hope that the police can get the information to find her and put everyone’s mind at ease.’
While Mr Bromley had never met Pheobe in person, he was aware she, too, was living at the house with his sister and Mr Wood.
Mr Bromley also admits he was so concerned he considered taking matters into his own hands.
‘My mum wouldn’t let me come up because she knew how I am, and I would have chased him out of town,’ he said.
Though it’s unclear why Pheobe was living at the Gin Gin house, the final posts she made to social media before she disappeared suggested the troubled teen had fallen out with her mother and would not return home.
The couple’s neighbour, Shari Loughland, told Daily Mail on Thursday that Pheobe had only been living there ‘for a few weeks, up to a month or two’.
However, it seems she was also having a hard time living at the Gin Gin property.
A friend who wished to remain anonymous has shared the last messages they received from Pheobe, sent on Monday, May 12 before she went missing.
‘I’ve been better but I focus on the good s***,’ Pheobe said when asked how she was going.
‘I take off to WA in three days! Get out of this s*** home for a bit so that will be good, just packing atm (at the moment).’
Asked how long she was going for, Pheobe replied: ’10 days beautiful x’.
The Gin Gin property where Pheobe was living, cluttered with rubbish and a dilapidated bus, has been a hive of police activity during the probe into her disappearance.
When Daily Mail visited the scene on Thursday, there was a pervading stench of decay emanating from the Milden St property, which witnesses speculated could be due to the dead dogs reportedly found at the home.
Early reports suggested police had discovered and removed four dead dogs from the scene, but one neighbour told Daily Mail she believed as many as 13 of the animals had been found.
Daily Mail can also reveal that Mr Wood, who was questioned by police over her disappearance, has offered a reward for anyone who can reveal her location.
‘Any little bit of information can help, please if you know something, please contact her family,’ Mr Wood wrote on social media.
‘If you know where she is and can give her family a legit address to bring her home or make contact with her, you can (have) my fishing boat as a reward, 15 ft alloy tinnie with trailer and all.
‘It’s not much but it’s yours if you know where she is, and please homie (Pheobe) if you see this please just contact one of us and let us know you’re ok.’
Police were also at the home Mr Wood and Ms Bromley shared with Pheobe on Friday.
Four police cars guarded the scene as two forensic investigators combed the house, appearing to collect evidence from the front porch.
Meanwhile, Pheobe’s mum, Kylie Johnson, has been engaged in a frantic search for Pheobe since she went missing, papering the town with posters.
Ms Johnson addressed her daughter directly in a post on Facebook on Saturday, which also featured a child’s drawing of a rainbow and the words ‘thinking of you’.
‘Phee Phee we wont stop looking for you till your home. I urge everyone in Gin Gin to keep their porch lights on tonight and guide our girl home…’ she wrote.
The distraught mum said ‘someone somewhere has to know something’.
‘Another day and minimal answers. I’m absolutely begging anyone with any information to contact the Queensland Police Service,’ she continued.
‘It could be the smallest of details you might even think it’s irrelevant information but it could be the key to bringing Pheobe home.
‘Thank you to our family, friends and community. Your thoughts love, respect and kindness are appreciated more then you could know or imagine.’
Ms Johnson has made no comment on Pheobe’s living situation, perhaps because she was worried she might ‘jeopardise the current police investigations,’ as she mentioned in a post on Wednesday.
Pheobe’s baffling disappearance has rocked Gin Gin, a small town west of Bundaberg with a population of 1,300 residents.
Horrified residents watched from their windows and from the street this week as a forensics team scoured the location, with local police keeping careful watch.
Ms Loughland said living living next door to the couple had become ‘horrible’ as she had to deal with regular noise from parties.
Last week she had made a complaint to council and RSPCA about their ‘howling dog’.
‘They moved in late October or November, and then it’s just gotten more and more cluttered with rubbish.
‘It was for sale… We did hear last night that someone owns it and they rent from them, so I don’t think they actually own it.’
Ms Loughland had said Pheobe came in and out of the home a couple of times, but didn’t realise she was actually living at the address until news broke of her disappearance.