Mother of missing teen Phoebe Bishop scolds social media trolls after receiving barrage of abuse
The mother of missing 17-year-old girl Phoebe Bishop has blasted numerous social media trolls, after her joint statement with Queensland Police was ruthlessly mocked by users.
Kylie Johnson partnered with Queensland Police on Saturday to release an announcement pleading anyone who had spotted the grey Hyundai ix35 her daughter was last seen in to contact authorities.
"Our lives have been changed for the worst after the sudden disappearance of my daughter who was last seen on May 15," she said in the clip.
The 17-year-old was last seen alive near Bundaberg Airport about 8.30am on May 15, when she was set to board a flight to see her boyfriend in Western Australia.
However, she never made it on the plane, which was bound for Brisbane, with CCTV from inside the terminal showing the teen had failed to even make it inside the airport.
Police and State Emergency Services (SES) spent five days searching nearby Good Night Scrub National Park, about 40 minutes from her home in the town of Gin Gin, yet the search was abandoned on Wednesday.
Kylie Johnson's visual statement received widespread criticism from a number of Facebook commenters, with many stating her plea seemed insincere and ungenuine.
Ms Johnson then reposted her video appeal on her personal Facebook account with a lengthy message rebuking those who had made offensive remarks, whilst defending her emotional demeanor.
'People wanted a statement, they got one yet still question me as a mother,' her post read.
'I'm sorry that I'm currently an emotional wreck, trying to protect our other children from the media and the trolls, trying to continue to breathe while your world shatters around you!
The distressed mother also reiterated that her daughter's disappearance was extremely out of character, and asked people who had made disparaging comments to advise her how to better handle the challenging situation.
'If anyone would like to be in this position please step in and show me how to do this.
'Show me what a perfect parent looks like? Show me how to navigate this? Show me how to deal with the unknown and the uncertainty? Show me how to use perfect language and emotion in a situation that NO parent ever wants to be in?"
Ms Johnson also used the post to beg anyone with information to immediately come forward and stated that her daughter would have detested the media spotlight the event had generated.
The post by and large received an outcry of public support, with many users praising Ms Johnson for her resilience and tenacity although some commenters scrutinised her statement and even picked apart her body language and facial expressions.
Some went as far as to question her use of past tense in the message.
However, the vast majority of commenters praised Ms Johnson for her courage and offered messages of encouragement and reassurance, with Nadia Elise saying: 'I think you are holding everything together as best you can lovely. Everyone who knows you, doesn't doubt you".
The search of the national park had involved SES volunteers, drones, a rescue helicopter and cadaver dogs, which are trained to find human remains.
Photographs from the scene showed police taking away brown bags from items collected in the bushland that would likely go under forensic examination.
Police suspect evidence may have been removed before they arrived.
Despite the search of the national park being suspended, police stressed the investigation was ongoing and they had "other areas" of interest.
In a statement to SkyNews.com.au on Saturday, a Queensland Police spokesman said, "the greater Gin Gin area remains the focus of the investigation".
Anyone with information can contact police anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online via the suspicious activity form.
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