A former homicide detective has shared the crucial timeframe police have missed as the search for Pheobe Bishop in Queensland continues.
The 17-year-old was last seen on May 15 leaving a home in Gin Gin near Bundaberg where she had been living with couple Tanika Bromley and James Wood.
Detectives believe the pair drove Pheobe the 40 minutes to Bundaberg Airport where she was supposed to board an 8.30am flight to Brisbane and then onto Perth where she planned to meet up with her boyfriend.
Former detective Charlie Bezzina has told Daily Mail Australia detectives have missed a key time frame as Pheobe was last seen 10 days ago.
‘Like any missing person the significant percentage of success would be within the first 24 hours,’ he said.
‘The longer it goes on, the more chance of success diminishes unfortunately as the loss of possible evidence and clues increases.
‘In respect to missing persons, unlike America there is no 24 hour rule that you have to wait, police are guided by the circumstances of the individual and what they are told by their loved ones.’
Mr Bezzina explained the information provided by loved ones will help to ‘heighten the escalation into a search’.
Pheobe Bishop (pictured with her mum Kylie Johnson) was last seen leaving a home in Gin Gin, Bundaberg, where she had been living with couple Tanika Bromley and James Wood, on May 15
On Saturday, police began conducting a land, water and aerial search of the Good Scrub National Park
‘You have to go where the evidence takes you and initially getting as much information from the family as you possibly can,’ Mr Bezzina said.
Pheobe’s case would have been made a high priority due to the circumstances in which she was reported missing.
He said missing a flight ‘certainly escalates the importance of [her case] to start putting a ground search in place’.
In a telling update, cadaver dogs have been brought in as the search for the missing teenager continues.
Queensland Police deployed the dogs at the Good Night Scrub National Park just outside of Gin Gin, an hour away from where Pheobe was last seen, on Sunday.
Mr Bezzina said there are ‘a number of missing persons that indicate foul play that are never found’ while there are others who are located ‘weeks, months later’.
‘The issue is the police can only go as far as they can. They will never give up, but when do they stop physically searching? When they’ve exhausted all the avenues of inquiry.’
Mr Bezzina said the biggest challenge officers face is the availability of resources.
Detectives believe Pheobe was driven to Bundaberg Airport where she was supposed to board an 8.30am flight to Brisbane and then onto Perth where she planned to meet up with her boyfriend
Questions remain over exactly why Pheobe was living at a house with the Ms Bromley and Mr Wood.
Social media posts made by Pheobe before she disappeared suggested the troubled teen had fallen out with her mother and would not return home.
The couple have been questioned by police and were released. No charges have been laid over Pheobe’s disappearance and Daily Mail Australia does not suggest Mr Wood and Ms Bromley were involved.
In a recent update, CCTV footage emerged on Facebook of the vehicle at the centre of the police investigation into Pheobe’s disappearance.
Footage showed the silver Hyundai ix35 – owned by Ms Bromley – driving through the backstreets of Gin Gin at 10.30am on May 15 – two hours after Pheobe was allegedly dropped off at the airport.
The footage has since been taken down.
‘Police are trying to nail down the timeline to where this vehicle has gone,’ Detective Acting Inspector Ryan Thompson said.
‘We do have associates that are assisting police with our inquiries at the moment, and this is why we’re trying to narrow down that timeline in relation to where Pheobe could be.’
Pheobe (pictured with her family) has been described as ‘the sunflower in a field full of wildflowers’ by her mum
Pheobe’s mum Kylie Johnson released a statement through police in which she described her daughter as ‘feisty’ and ‘the sunflower in a field full of wildflowers.’
The statement said: ‘Phee has always been strong willed and followed her own beat to life.’
‘You can’t tame Phee’s spirit, empathy or fight for life. She is sassy, feisty and loves harder than anyone I’ve ever meet,’ her mum said.
‘Phee loves beyond comprehension and is loyal to her siblings.’
‘Phee is the sunflower in a field full of wildflowers. She is an essential part of our lives and we need her home. We need to hear her music, feel her hugs and hear her voice.
‘Pheobe would never not touch base with the people she loves. She would never go this long without contacting someone or anyone.’