Gin Gin home and Hyundai declared crime scenes six days after Pheobe Bishop goes missing
Two crime scenes have been declared six days after Pheobe Bishop went missing near a regional Queensland airport.
Queensland police are investigating whether a missing teenage girl got into an argument and was kicked out of a car meant to take her to a regional airport before she disappeared.
Detectives are now confident Pheobe Bishop, 17, never made it to Bundaberg Regional Airport last Thursday, despite being told it was the last place she had been seen.
The Bundaberg teenager was due to board a flight on May 15 to Western Australia to visit a friend, but she never checked in.
“We have received CCTV from the airport which indicated she did not enter the terminal,” said Detective Acting Inspector Ryan Thompson on Wednesday.
“That’s why we are quite confident Pheobe didn’t make it to the airport.”
On Wednesday morning, police declared a crime scene at a property in the rural town of Gin Gin, 50km west of Bundaberg, where Pheobe was living with two people that were not her direct family members.
A second crime scene was a confiscated grey Hyundai ix35 – the vehicle that had been meant to take her to the airport – which belonged to one of the other residents at the Gin Gin property.
The vehicle was towed to a Bundaberg holding facility for further investigation.
Officers are following up reports that Pheobe was seen fighting with someone in the car and had been kicked out of it.
Inspector Thompson said the teenager’s prolonged absence was concerning and unusual.
“We do hold concerns for her safety due to the reason that it’s been nearly a week since she was last sighted,” he said.
“It’s out of character for her not to make any contact with anyone.”
He would not rule out whether the young woman had been murdered.
Police have conducted comprehensive interviews with the two people she lived with.
Pheobe was last seen carrying luggage and wearing a green tank top with grey sweatpants.
The teenager’s mother, Kylie Johnson, released a desperate plea to her daughter on social media, begging her to make contact, and urging anyone with information to contact the police.
“Hold your babies close. We would currently do anything to be able to hold our baby tight right now,” Ms Johnson wrote.
“Right now we are grasping onto hope … We as a family are holding onto every bit of hope that our daughter, sister, auntie, niece, cousin and imperative member of our family comes home soon.”
Ms Johnson urged people to share a missing person poster of her daughter to spread awareness.
Police tape was strung up around the Gin Gin property, which had a large bus and boat parked up alongside it, on Wednesday.
Officers carried bags of evidence from the home, and the Courier Mail reported that several dead dogs had been removed from the property.
Investigations by Queensland police will continue, focusing on the Avoca and Branyan areas.
Police are calling for any CCTV footage of the grey Hyundai near Airport Drive and Samuels Road area in Bundaberg.
Additional reporting: Newswire
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