‘Time to grieve’: Pheobe Bishop’s family confirms remains found in bushland are hers

The father of Pheobe Bishop’s boyfriend has revealed touching details of the young couple’s relationship, as it was confirmed remains found in bushland belonged to the teen.

The body discovered in rugged bushland earlier this month has been formally identified as missing teen Pheobe Bishop, bringing an end to a month-long search that has gripped the nation.

Police confirmed on Tuesday that the remains found near Good Night Scrub National Park in the Bundaberg region of Queensland earlier this month were those of the missing teenager.

“Investigations into locating more items of interest in relation to this matter are ongoing,” police said.

Kylie Johnson and (daughter) Pheobe Bishop. Picture Facebook

Pheobe disappeared while being driven to Bundaberg Airport for a planned a trip to Western Australia.

The trip was set to be especially meaningful, not just a holiday, but a long-awaited reunion with her boyfriend Levi, who had moved across the country following a family tragedy.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Bishop family said police officers had confirmed to them that the remains were Pheobe’s.

“Our family would like to thank everyone involved, from information reported to searching and everyone that has sent heartwarming messages,” the statement read.

“We just would also like to have time to process and grieve this new information as a family and ask for privacy at this time.”

Police are still appealing for information in relation to Pheobe or the movement of a grey Hyundai IX35 between May 15-18 in the greater Gin Gin area.

Pheobe’s body was discovered near Good Night Scrub National Park on June 6. Picture: NewsWire / Adam Head

The 17-year-old was last seen on May 15, on her way to Bundaberg Airport to board a flight to visit her boyfriend in Western Australia. However, investigators later confirmed that she never entered the terminal.

She did not board the flight and was not captured on CCTV inside the airport.

Police now allege that she was murdered shortly after she was last seen, and her body was moved multiple times before it was discovered near Good Night Scrub National Park on June 6.

James Wood, 34, and Tanika Bromley, 33, were arrested on June 5 and charged with murder and two counts of interfering with a corpse.

Police conducted several inquiries during their investigations, including multiple searches of Good Night Scrub National Park, forensic examinations of the Gin Gin property where Pheobe and the accused lived and a vehicle.

Police have regularly appealed for dashcam or CCTV footage of Ms Bromley’s grey Hyundai IX35 that the trio were allegedly travelling in, revealing it was a key component of the investigation into the teen’s disappearance.

Pheobe’s flatmate James Wood is accused of her murder.

The pair remain in custody and are due to reappear in court in August. Neither has entered pleas to the charges.

The home where Pheobe had been living with the accused was found in squalid condition, with evidence of severe animal neglect and structural damage.

Not long after their arrests, human remains, now identified as Pheobe’s, were found.

Detective Inspector Craig Mansfield said technological analysis and on-ground mapping prompted officers to expand their search into a new area about 9km from the original location.

He confirmed the remains were located in bushland and had not been buried.

Tanika Bromley lived at the Gin Gin address with Mr Wood, and Pheobe.

The terrain, described as “unforgiving,” slowed forensic examination efforts, but the discovery of a track resembling one previously found in the earlier search helped narrow the focus.

“We were effectively looking for tracks not too dissimilar to the first one in appearance, and then we happened upon a track that did look similar … so it was then that capability was deployed onto that and the remains were found,” Inspector Mansfield said.

Levi, 18, had relocated to the west coast after the death of his mother in a tragic car crash on New Year’s Eve in 2020.

Levi (left), with his father Rick, was Pheobe’s boyfriend. Picture: Facebook

According to The Daily Mail, Levi’s father Rick said the family moved to escape the daily trauma of passing the crash site on their school bus.

“Levi absolutely adored Pheobe,” Rick said.

“They would video chat all night, every night, falling asleep, and then they would tell each other who was sleep talking the next day. It was a bit cute.”

The pair had been planning a beachside camping trip to Esperance, with Levi even gifting Pheobe a $1000 Canon camera to encourage her love of photography.

“It’s so heartbreaking, seeing what could have been a beautiful future together shattered into pieces,” Rick said.

While the search for Pheobe is now over, the police investigation into her death continues.

Originally published as ‘Time to grieve’: Pheobe Bishop’s family confirms remains found in bushland are hers