Tahnee Shanks: How family plans to get her home safely
‘We need our family to be whole again’: The family of a Queensland woman missing in Mexico have used a home reno loan to launch a MX$1m (A$70k) reward to ‘keep Tahnee’s face in the global spotlight’.
Whitsunday
Don't miss out on the headlines from Whitsunday. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A $1 million peso reward posted on social media on Thursday for the safe return of missing Whitsunday mum Tahnee Shanks has already garnered thousands of shares.
Dan Shanks, the brother of the missing woman who has been spearheading the campaign to find her, said it was against advice from authorities but information about the investigation into his 32-year-old sister’s disappearance in Mexico almost three weeks ago had virtually dried up.
He used a loan he had secured to renovate his Conway Beach home to fund the A$70,000 bid for information.
“We’ve still had no updates from authorities and I’m concerned the search has lost its potency,” he said.
But suggestions they would get swamped have fallen flat – not even threats or ransom requests.
“All we can do is hold onto some hope for now,” he said.
“And we need to keep making as much noise as we can for as long as we can.”
The Shanks family in Australia was alerted to Tahnee’s disappearance when her daughter Adelynn, 2, was dumped at a church in Cancun on the night of May 2.
Neither Tahnee nor Addy’s father Jorge Aguirre Astudillo have been seen since.
Adelynn’s Uncle Ben Shanks, from Mackay, and her grandmother Leanne Shanks made a mercy dash to Mexico to collect Addy and bring her back to the Australia.
She spent a few nights in Mackay but is now settling into life in the Whitsundays.
Authorities in Quintana Roo, the state that includes Cancun, confirmed Jorge has a history of domestic violence which is one line of inquiry in the investigation.
A San Pedro Sun article has suggested Jorge could be in Belize.
“Mexican police have tried to locate Astudillo for questioning, to no avail,” it read.
“Close friends of Shanks believe he might be in Belize.
“According to a source close to Shanks’ family, Astudillo frequently visited Belize; thus, police suspect he may have crossed into the country.
“Another lead is that Astudillo could be in Puerto Vallarta on the Mexican Pacific coast. “Mexican authorities found their burned vehicle in the municipality of Puerto Morelos.
“One of the many theories is the possibility that they were both victims of enforced disappearance.”
But the website also said there was “no confirmation the Belize Police Department has been notified of Astudillo’s potential presence in the country”.
An article in the Cancun Sun in April, before Tahnee went missing, stated 60 per cent of missing foreigners in the Cancun area remained unsolved.
The report says there have been 72 missing person cases involving foreigners since 2007 and 42 cases remain open and unsolved.
The Cancun Post reported one person killed and six others injured on May 6 in shootings on Cancun’s main boulevard away from the resort city’s hotel zone.
The publication noted an increase in “rampant violence”, writing about authorities finding four bodies dumped in undergrowth in Cancun in March.
The Post said they were believed to be part of a total of 13 murders committed by the Jalisco cartel in the resort since September, with most of the bodies found in vacant lots or houses.
“In January, prosecutors said the killing of two Canadians near Cancun was motivated by debts between international gangs apparently dedicated to drug and weapons trafficking,” an article reads.
“In late October, further south in Tulum, two tourists – one a California travel blogger born in India and the other German — were caught in the apparent crossfire of rival drug dealers and killed.”
While the Shanks family were initially getting a lot of information from Mexican and Australian authorities, they now fear the investigation has fallen away as lines of communication dry up.
On the Bring Tahnee Home Facebook page, the family asked for people to continue sharing updates to “keep Tahnee’s face in the global spotlight”.
They provided an update on the police information they have received to date.
“At this stage the police have not released any new information, but this is what we can confirm so far,” it reads.
“Authorities have confirmed video footage of a woman being forced into a van WAS NOT Tahnee.
“The white Toyota Tundra found burnt out in Puerto Morelos approximately 45 minutes after Adelynn was discovered outside a church in Cancun, has been confirmed as the car that they were travelling in.
“We will persist in the search for Tahnee and issue updates when any new information comes to light.”
The family also thanked the social media community for its dedication for keeping Tahnee’s disappearance circulating to get her “home safely to her daughter”.
“We are in the deep end so are asking for any assistance or advice from her amazing family and friends on how to keep Tahnee’s story in the public eye,” it reads.
“The main objective is to share to as many people in Mexico as possible, friends or public Facebook groups.
“We are not able to access Tahnee’s Facebook friend list so need help from her friends.”
In another update, they thank everyone for their efforts.
“The response has been overwhelming and the number of people sharing Tahnee’s story has pushed her story to go viral and helped us to bring Addy home.
“We are doing this update to keep it fresh in everyone’s minds that we are still 100 per cent focused on the search for Tahnee and that Addy is home safe and is doing amazingly well given the circumstances.”
On a GoFundMe page that has raised $33,000 but is being kept separate from the reward, Tahnee’s mother Leanne also thanked the public for their support.
“It’s because of all of you we have Addy safely in Australia and she is adjusting as well as she can do, given the circumstance,” she said.
“We have taken a step back from the media to not hinder the Mexican Goverment’s search for Tahnee.
“However seeing as we are running out of leads, we need to increase the search for Tahnee so we are starting to look at different avenues to find her e.g. private investigators, flights to go back over to look, and accommodations.
“As a family, we share this information so you know what you are helping us with.
“All of this is to get Tahnee home as quickly and safely as possible.
“Addy needs her mother, and we need our family to be whole again.
“I can’t begin to explain how difficult this has been on the family, but because of all of you we don’t feel like we are going through this alone.
“So if you can please keep sharing this page or donate you will be helping us find our Tahnee and reunite her with her beautiful daughter.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Tahnee Shanks: How family plans to get her home safely
The Palaszczuk supporters who have abandoned Steven Miles
An exclusive Courier-Mail poll reveals many of the voters who helped an Annastacia Palaszczuk-led Labor secure victory at the last state election have returned to the LNP.
Man goes on axe rampage in Qld country town
Police allege the Qld man, 44, set fire to a unit complex before going on a rampage with an axe, assaulting people, breaking into stores and driving into a pedestrian. SEE THE VIDEO.
Woman stalked husband’s alleged affair partner
A Queensland woman who thought her husband was having an affair with his work colleague stalked the other woman, repeatedly harassing her over three months.
Who won week three? Watch most BRUTAL Voter Verdict yet
The Courier-Mail’s Voter Verdict have weighed in on the third week of the election campaign with a brutal assessment of both leaders. But who won the week?
Premier vows to open 10 new police beats despite 42 closing
Steven Miles will attempt to open 10 new police beats if elected, despite 42 beats closing since Labor has been in power, something the Premier says was a police service decision.
Teen driver dies after horror Bruce Highway truck crash
A teenage girl has sadly died after the vehicle she was driving and a semi-trailer collided in the Whitsundays, the second serious crash along that stretch of roadway in the past month.