
EXCLUSIVE The four-word text that sparked a tragic hunt for missing teen Pheobe Bishop - as her housemates are now charged with her murder
The hunt for missing teen Pheobe Bishop was triggered by a frantic text from her sister to the last-known people to see her alive, Daily Mail Australia can reveal.
Pheobe's housemates James Wood and Tanika Bromley have now been charged with the 17-year-old's murder and two counts each of interfering with her corpse.
She vanished on May 15 after leaving the ramshackle home in Gin Gin, near Bundaberg in central Queensland, that she shared with Wood and Bromley.
They told police they had given her an early morning lift to Bundaberg Airport to board a plane on a trip to see her boyfriend in Perth.
But Pheobe never made it to check in, and her older sister Kaylea, 18, triggered the search when the family was alerted Pheobe had never arrived in Western Australia.
In an text to Wood and Bromley on May 16, Kaylea demanded to know: 'Where is my sister?'
Three weeks later detectives have accused the housemates of Pheobe's murder, and on Friday notified the family they had found human remains.
Just hours earlier Kaylea had begged for help finding her sister's body in an impassioned plea outside Bundaberg Magistrates Court after Bromley and Wood's murder charges were heard.
She sat in the far corner of the front row, staring straight ahead flanked by friends, family and a court security guard as details of the murder charges against the couple were read out.
Neither Wood nor Bromley appeared in person or by video link for the hearing and afterwards Kaylea walked outside to make her heartbreaking statement.
'We just want her home,' she said tearfully through red-rimmed eyes.
'I don't know what to say, if you've got any information about Pheobe or the car, just come forward.
'Three weeks is too long for us as a family. She was loved, she's missed dearly.'
Kaylea and Pheobe had a close relationship and had been planning to move out of the family home and into a house together last year.
On Friday, the girls' mother Kylie Johnson paid tribute to Kaylea for facing the media to speak up for her allegedly murdered sister.
'Kaylea your strength, determination and dedication to bring Phee Phee home is such a reflection of your fierce love for your sister,' Ms Johnson posted on Facebook.
'Pheobe would be so proud of the way you handled yourself today just as we are. We WILL bring Phee home - I don't care how long it takes but we will get her home.'
After the remains were found she posted again, saying: 'I didn't think my heart could break anymore then it did when you went missing, or when the charges were laid, but this! This is ripping me apart.'
Pheobe was last seen on May 15 leaving the Gin Gin home, near Bundaberg in central Queensland, where she was living with Wood, 34, and Bromley, 33.
The couple allegedly drove Pheobe to Bundaberg Airport at 8.30am for a flight to Brisbane and then on to Perth, where she planned to meet up with her boyfriend.
She never got on the plane and Detective Inspect Craig Mansfield told reporters on Friday that, as the investigation progressed, all hope was lost of finding Pheobe alive.
'Our evidence will outline the fact that three people arrived near to the airport and three people never exited that vehicle,' he told reporters on Friday.
'Our investigation will detail the facts that we believe Pheobe was murdered and then her body was moved.
'We will allege that Pheobe was moved more than one occasion.'
Pheobe had been living with the couple prior to her disappearance on May 15.
The couple were arrested in Bundaberg on Thursday night and were each charged with one count of murder and two counts of interfering with a corpse.
They remain in custody and were due to front Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Friday morning but did not appear via video link.
The arrests came after Wood was initially arrested on Wednesday and then released without charge.
The arrests came after James Wood (pictured) was initially arrested on Wednesday and then released without charge
Police towed Wood's SUV which he had 'effectively been living out of it from time to time' for forensic examination
The search for Pheobe had been scaled back on Wednesday after police spent weeks combing several areas of interest.
They included the property in Gin Gin where Pheobe lived with Wood and Bromley and a grey Hyundai ix35, thought to have been used to take the teen to the airport.
Det. Insp. Mansfield told reporters while he could not speculate on motive, he said police have 'information that would suggest some form of motivation'.
Police have also towed Wood's SUV which he had 'effectively been living out of it from time to time' for forensic examination on Thursday night.
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