Pheobe Bishop: What we know about Bundaberg teen so far
The weeks-long search for Pheobe Bishop culminated with her housemates being charged with her murder – this is everything we know so far.
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Detectives investigating the death of teen Pheobe Bishop have charged a third person after her alleged murder.
Her two housemates have been charged with murder, after detectives seized a car and set up a crime scene at a Gin Gin property they shared after the 17-year-old vanished after she was supposed to be dropped at Bundaberg Airport.
Human remains were found on June 6 in the search for Ms Bishop, with family later confirming they belonged to the teen.
A third person, a 30-year-old man will face Bundaberg Magistrates Court on July 2 on two counts of accessory after the fact to murder, one count of failure to appear in accordance with undertaking and one breach of bail condition.
This is everything we know so far >>>
What is the timeline of events?
Detectives investigating the disappearance of teen Pheobe Bishop said there was no proof she was ever dropped at Bundaberg Airport, seizing a car and setting up a crime scene at a property where she was staying.
Ms Bishop was due to fly from Bundaberg to Brisbane and then on to Western Australia to visit a friend on May 15, but failed to board the flight.
She was last seen about 8.30am on Airport Drive with luggage.
Detective Acting Inspector Ryan Thompson said police were confident Pheobe never made it to the airport despite being told it was the last place she was seen.
Acting Police Inspector Thompson confirmed they were investigating reports the teenager had been fighting with someone in the car and had been kicked out of it.
The teenager had not contacted friends or family, and her bank accounts have not been accessed since the day she was last seen.
Inspection Ryan Thompson on May 27 said police were trying to work out what evidence had been moved from the search site after they “received information”.
Human remains were found on June 6 in the search for Ms Bishop, with family later confirming they belonged to the teen.
It was later reported Pheobe had been separated from her boyfriend by a tragedy in the young man’s life.
Her boyfriend has been identified by The Daily Mail as 18-year-old Levi, with the young man’s father Rick telling the outlet he was forced to move with his children to WA after Levi’s mother was killed in a car crash.
Pheobe was farewelled in a moving ceremony on June 30.
On July 2, a third person was charged in relation to her disappearance, with a 30-year-old facing two counts of accessory after the fact to murder, one count of failure to appear in accordance with undertaking and one breach of bail condition.
Who are the housemates?
The housemates who are alleged to be the last to see the missing Gin Gin teenager alive have now been charged with her murder. They were identified as locals Tanika Bromley and James Wood.
The pair told police they had dropped Pheobe at Bundaberg Airport with her luggage, but officers said she never arrived, and her luggage has not been found.
A grey Hyundai ix35 which was used to drive Pheobe has been seized by police for forensic examination.
A Facebook post from one of her friends desperate to find her began circulating on social media.
Pheobe’s housemate James Wood shared a post from the Queensland Police Service on May 16 in which he offered a “reward” for anyone with information or a “legit address” where the 17-year-old could be.
Mr Wood, 34, was arrested 20 days after the Queensland teen went missing.
He was taken into custody in Bundaberg on June 4 and was questioned in connection with Ms Bishop’s disappearance.
While he was initially let go without charge, he was rearrested alongside Bromley on Thursday night. Both appeared in Bundaberg Magistrates Court on June 6.
Who was Pheobe Bishop?
It was revealed the last thing Pheobe posted to social media before she vanished was a haunting conversation with her younger self.
The 17-year-old disappeared on May 15 after she never boarded a flight from Bundaberg to Brisbane.
She was on her way to visit her boyfriend in Western Australia when the alarm was raised, with no activity recorded on her social media and bank accounts since.
Pheobe’s last activity on Tik Tok was May 13 – two days before she vanished.
She often posted and shared videos speaking about relationships, mental health, family, and inspirational messages.
The last thing she posted was a video of a conversation she would like to have with her younger self, saying she had “been in and out” of home for years, how she was “never going back”, and how she was focusing on herself now.
She also shared a video in March saying she wasn’t “built for this town” and those around her weren’t her “people”.
Pheobe’s social media profile describes her as loving music and nature, saying both were her “church” and “religion”.
Pheobe – known affectionately as Flea or Phee – has been described by family as “loyal to the core” who “loves hard”. One of Pheobe’s family members told The Courier Mail she was a “beautiful little hippie”.
On May 24 her family opened up about the “sassy, feisty, wild gypsy banshee”.
On May 28 her boyfriend said he waited for hours at Perth Airport before becoming concerned, posting on social media the day after Pheobe vanished.
“Maybe I deserve all the pain I am feeling right now, I mean it is my fault, I should have done better”.
What have Pheobe’s housemates been charged with?
Tanika Kristan Bromley, 33, and James Wood, 34, have both been charged with murder and two counts each of interfering with a corpse.
Pheobe, 17, was living with Bromley and Wood in a derelict Gin Gin house in the lead up to her disappearance in May.
What was found at the property?
A Gin Gin property where the teenager had been living with two people and a grey Hyundai ix35 — the car that was meant to drop her at the airport — were both declared crime scenes.
Police tape has been put up at the property which has a large bus parked out the front of it along with a boat.
Questions also remain over why the missing 17-year-old was living with a couple at a derelict home cluttered with rubbish and dead dogs in the backyard.
The SUV, with Queensland registration 414EW3, which is owned by one of two people from the house, is undergoing forensic examination at a Bundaberg holding facility.
The housemates to last see missing Gin Gin teenager Pheobe Bishop have been identified as locals Tanika Bromley and James Wood, while in a chilling new development police have expanded their search to two new areas.
On June 11 we saw inside the house where she spent her final days.
Images emerged in late June of the property, which had been cleared and tidied up.
What has the family said?
Pheobe’s mother Kylie Johnson said “our world has just been shattered into the most horrific place I’ve ever been”. “I need my baby home to put her to rest!” Ms Johnson wrote. “I’m absolutely begging anyone that knows anything to come forward.
After the discovery of human remains on June 6 Ms johnson wrote: “I didn’t think my heart could break anymore then it did when you went missing, or when the charges where (sic) laid but this! This is ripping me apart.”
Speaking outside court, Pheobe’s sister, who declined to provide her name, said: “I don’t know what to say, if you’ve got any information about Pheobe or the car, just come forward.”
What has the Premier said?
Premier David Crisafulli praised police for their swift action in the investigation, describing the tragedy as ‘deeply troubling’ during a 4BC radio interview.
“When something like this happens in a tight-knit community it cuts deep, and there is no doubt that the community would be feeling it this morning,” he said.
The Premier thanked QPS for their excellent work on the case.
What has been the community reaction?
A vigil was held on June 8, Bundaberg mayor Helen Blackburn confirmed, at the Kolan Community Park.
Pheobe’s family chose some of her favourite songs to play.
Floral tributes were also been laid outside the Gin Gin property where Pheobe was living before she was allegedly murdered.
Earlier in the search she said the entire region had been deeply affected by the “distressing” situation, but had come together and held on to the hope that Pheobe would be returned safely.
“This situation has deeply affected our entire region, particularly the Gin Gin community, where Pheobe had been living,” she said at the time.
The community farewelled Pheobe on June 30 as mourners arrived dressed in bright and bold colours to honour the free-spirited Gin Gin youth.