The final message from 17-year-old Pheobe Bishop, a teenager who vanished on her way to catch a flight out of Queensland, Australia, has been revealed—painting a haunting picture of a teen eager to escape a troubled life.
“I take off to WA in three days! Get out of this s*** home for a bit, so that will be good,” she texted to a friend on May 12, just days before her disappearance. “Just packing atm.”
Highlights
- 17-year-old Pheobe Bishop vanished while en route to airport for a flight to visit her boyfriend in Perth, a plane she never boarded.
- Pheobe had been living in a neglected Gin Gin home with 'flatmates' Tanika Bromley and James Wood before her disappearance.
- Her final message reveals her wish to escape her complex living situation.
- Community and social media are rife with suspicion towards Wood and Bromley, but no official links to Pheobe’s disappearance have been confirmed.
Pheobe was last seen on the morning of May 15, departing a rundown home in Gin Gin—a small town west of Bundaberg—where she had recently been living. She was on her way to the airport for an 8:30 am flight to Perth via Brisbane to visit her boyfriend—a plane she never boarded.
Now, just over a week later, the search for Phoebe has intensified, with police divers scouring waterways in the nearby Good Night Scrub National Park and searching her residence, which has been officially declared a crime scene.
The final message of disappeared teenager Pheobe Bishop has been revealed, detailing her plans before vanishing
Image credits: ABC News Australia
Pheobe had been living with local couple Tanika Bromley and James Wood at a house located on Milden Street.
Described by neighbors as increasingly chaotic and neglected, the property was surrounded by piles of rubbish and a dilapidated single-decker bus with “Let it ride” scrawled across its side.
Image credits: Kylie Johnson
Members of local media sent to report on-site described the area as having a “sickening stench,” presumably due to the presence of multiple dog corpses that were subsequently removed by police.
“I didn't even know she was living there until the news broke,” said neighbor Shari Loughland. “The parties, the noise, the howling dogs... it’s been horrible.”
Image credits: Kylie Johnson
James Wood, who is suspected to have driven Pheobe to the airport, has since broken his silence. Posting to social media, he made a public plea for help and offered an unconventional incentive.
“If you know where she is and can give her family a legit address to bring her home or make contact with her, you can [have] my fishing boat as a reward,” he wrote.
“It’s not much, but it’s yours... Please Pheobe, if you see this, contact one of us and let us know you're ok.”
Image credits: Kylie Johnson
Both Wood and Bromley have been questioned by police following the disappearance.
Detective Acting Inspector Ryan Thompson confirmed that they are investigating reports of a possible argument between Pheobe and Wood en route to the airport.
“There are claims she may have been kicked out of the car before reaching her destination,” Thompson said.
Pheobe had written cryptic messages on social media explaining what led her to abandon her family home
Image credits: ABC News Australia
It isn't entirely clear why Pheobe was living at the Gin Gin house with Bromley and Wood, but her final posts made on social media paint a picture of a teenager carrying the weight of years of emotional abandonment—and a relationship with both of her parents that was damaged beyond repair.
“When I pass away, get my dad to lower my coffin so he can let me down one last time,” the teenager wrote on TikTok, implying a history of emotional harm and unresolved conflict.
In a second post, Pheobe wrote a story in which she met for coffee with a younger version of herself, acting as a metaphor for her inner conflict and doubts regarding her decision to move away from her parents.
“Do me and mum get along?” the younger version asked. “Did I finally make her proud? Do we still live at home?”
“What about our siblings? Don’t we need them?”
Pheobe then replies to herself that she’s been “in and out for years,” and that her younger self’s hopes of reconciliation and stability will never be fulfilled.
“We don’t see nor talk to her, but it’s better like this,” she said, referring to her mother. “This year, they’re all gone, and we have different lives.”
Image credits: James Wood/Tanika Bromley
Given this context, the teenager was presumably living with Bromley and Wood to escape from unresolved trauma. The fact that she was living with “flatmates” at a derelict property also hints at her not being supported financially by her parents.
While the details of what led Pheobe to leave her parents remain undisclosed, the stench-ridden property in Gin Gin seemed, in her eyes, a better alternative to her family home.
Pheobe’s mother was harassed online shortly after taking to social media to ask for help in locating her daughter
Image credits: Kylie Johnson
While Pheobe was dealing with her inner demons, her mother, Kylie Johnson, was busy blanketing the town with missing posters. In her desperation, she took to social media to beg for information—a move that made her the target of internet harassment.
“As another day starts, it’s getting harder to breathe,” she wrote. “The numbness that we feel at not knowing is eating at us. We would do anything just to hear your voice.”
Image credits: ABC News Australia
Netizens blamed Johnson for pushing her daughter away, accusing her of introducing her to a lifestyle that ultimately led to her “living with a pair of meth users on weapons charges.”
“I do suspect dr*gs and alcohol are at play. And Phoebe may have learned some bad habits from her parents, perhaps drinking, smoking cigarettes, pot, etc.”
Image credits: Kylie Johnson
Other rumors surrounding the family’s situation were soon to follow.
“Phoebe's aunt has been on social media getting upset that Phoebe's mother is pretending to care about her; she hinted at severe dysfunction within the home,” one user wrote.
“We have a mum who is letting her teenager live with random adults whose home looks like a crack house and have criminal records. She apparently lost custody of Phoebe at one stage and is now pretending to be a loving mother online.”
Netizens suspect the Gin Gin couple is responsible, but official information has not linked them to the disappearance
Image credits: Kylie Johnson
Authorities continue to search the Bundaberg and Gin Gin areas, but no arrests have been made in relation to the teen’s disappearance.
“We are examining all possible scenarios,” Inspector Thompson said.
Back in Gin Gin, its community of just 1,300 people have been watching from their porches as forensic teams comb the crime scene, visibly disturbed by the events unfolding just beneath their noses.
Image credits: Kylie Johnson
While the mystery of what happened to Pheobe Bishop remains unresolved, netizens believe the fault lies squarely with Wood and Bromley.
Image credits: 9 News Australia
“This couple is guilty; they know where she is, and I have a feeling it's murder,” one user wrote.
“I read that the neighbor said the dogs were non-stop barking, and days later when police were at the property, they found that every single one of them had d*ed.”
Official information, however, has not linked the couple with the disappearance.
"May she rest in peace." Some netizens have already given up on the idea of Pheobe being found alive
