EXCLUSIVE Pheobe Bishop's boyfriend breaks his silence, revealing fresh details about her fateful trip to the airport - and the other tragedy that took them apart from one another
Pheobe, 17, vanished en route from her hometown of Gin Gin in central Queensland, to visit her high school sweetheart, Levi, 18, in Western Australia on May 15.
But she never made her flight after her housemates James Wood, 34, and Tanika Bromley, 33, allegedly murdered her on the way to nearby Bundaberg Airport.
Pheobe rang her boyfriend as she was being driven by them to the airport - but he was unable to hear anything before the call cut off.
Levi waited patiently in vain for her to arrive at Perth Airport, dutifully checking flight after flight, until he realised something had gone horribly wrong and raised the alarm.
Now Levi's father Rick - speaking on his son's behalf - has opened up to Daily Mail Australia. (We are not revealing Levi's surname at the family's request.)
Rick said Levi is still too traumatised by Pheobe's loss - but said the family wanted to pay tribute to the special bond between the lovestruck teenagers.
'Levi absolutely adored Pheobe,' he said.
Rick revealed the tragedy is the second devastating heartbreak to hit the family after Levi lost his mother in a car crash in Bundaberg just four years ago - a tragedy that prompted the family to move across the country.
Pheobe Bishop, 17, (pictured with her mother Kylie Johnson) vanished en route from her rural Queensland hometown to visit high school sweetheart, Levi, 18, in Western Australia on May 15
'They would video chat all night, every night, falling asleep - and then they would tell each other who was sleep-talking the next day,' Rick told Daily Mail Australia.
'It was a bit cute.'
The father-of-six said the couple had been excited for weeks about their reunion and were busily planning out every detail.
'Levi had bought Pheobe a Canon camera worth $1000 because she wanted to get into photography,' he said.
'A week before she was supposed to land, Levi had packed the 4WD up with camping gear.
'He had planned a trip to Esperance in WA, camping on the beach with Pheobe.
'They were both really excited about that.
'It's so heartbreaking seeing what could have been a beautiful future together shattered into pieces.'
Pheobe's tragic death comes only a few years after Levi, then 13, lost his mother Jade Warry, 35.
'Their beautiful mum had a car accident on New Years Eve 2020 and the kids would go past the site everyday on the school bus,' Rick said.
'It was too hard on them, the constant reminder.'
Jade was travelling on Bucca Road in Bundaberg when her vehicle crashed into a tree just before 9pm.
A passing motorist found Jade and paramedics were called to the scene - but nothing could be done to save her life.
Rick and Jade had been planning their wedding for the following year and he admitted he was devastated by the loss.
Pheobe and Levi both attended the same local school, but Rick then had to make the difficult decision to split them up and relocate his family for a fresh start.
The family faced daily reminders of the horrific tragedy, and the father decided he needed to move far away to escape the confronting traumatic scene, day after day.
'Moving to WA was the best move,' he said. 'I never thought I'd see them happy again.
'And it meant the world to us for Pheobe to come over.
'I'm a widower with six children and she just wanted to come over and help and spend quality time with Levi's siblings.'
Tragically, she never made it.
Officers discovered the teenager's remains near Good Night Scrub National Park on June 6.
It's alleged Bromley and Wood interfered with her corpse on May 15 and again two days later when Pheobe's body is said to have been moved to Good Night Scrub National Park.
Court documents allege she was killed on Airport Drive in Bundaberg where she was last seen with her luggage, which police have yet to find.
Detectives are understood to be relying on Pheobe's clothes and DNA from hair at the scene to identify her after her body lay for three weeks in a remote area where feral dogs and wild pigs roam.
Police confirmed Pheobe's remains had not been buried at the site where they were found.
Detective Inspector Craig Mansfield said the remains had been at the location since Pheobe first went missing.
He told reporters telecommunications data had led them to the second site.
'The national park is vast and unforgiving terrain,' Insp Mansfield said.
He confirmed Pheobe's luggage is yet to be located and that police are still waiting for forensics to come back from the Gin Gin house Pheobe shared with Wood and Bromley.
'Significant forensic procedures still need to take place,' he said.
Pheobe's mother Kylie Johnson was informed that police had found human remains just moments before the discovery was made public.
'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,' she said in a post as the news broke.
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