A moving vigil in memory of slain teenager Pheobe Bishop has drawn a crowd of hundreds, with a speech from her charismatic sister urging those attendance to dance.
The community held a candlelight vigil at Kolan Community Park between 4pm and 6pm on Sunday with about 500 mourners wearing bright colours and butterflies. A second candlelight vigil will be held at Buss Park in nearby Bundaberg on Monday from 5pm.
Pheobe, 17, went missing near Queensland’s Bundaberg airport about 8.30am on May 15 after booking a trip to WA. On Friday, officers discovered what were believed to be the teenager’s remains near Goodnight Scrub National Park.
The find was made in ‘unforgiving’ terrain southwest of Bundaberg, with investigators aiming to also recover the teenager’s missing luggage expected to wind up their efforts on Saturday evening.
Pheobe’s housemates, James Wood, 34, and Tanika Bromley, 33, fronted Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Friday, three weeks to the day after she missed a flight and vanished. Prosecutors allege the pair moved Pheobe’s body more than once.
At the end of the Sunday’s vigil, Pheobe’s sister Kaylea, 18, dedicated a One Republic song to the teen and said, ‘Please stand up and dance, because you know that’s what this b****h (Pheobe) would do!’
The family immediately broke out dancing and cheering in a moment those in attendance described as incredibly moving.
Pheobe Bishop, pictured with her mum Kylie Johnson, went missing on May 15, with officers discovering what were believed to be the teenager’s remains near Goodnight Scrub National Park on Friday
Pheobe’s sister Kaylea, 18, gave an emotional speech where she said her sister was ‘loyal to the core’ and ‘loved her life’
Kaylea dedicated a One Republic song to the teen and told mourners to ‘stand up and dance’
During the moving vigil, an extremely brave Kaylea gave a tearful speech in honour of her sister.
She said: ‘Obviously, I didn’t write a speech speech, but, um.. Pheobe! 17 years was never enough for your life.
‘But in the short 17 years that she was with us, God, she gave us a run for our b***y money.. She was cutthroat person, but she saw the good in everyone.
‘If she had a opinion about you, you were sure to find out about it, whether you liked it or not. But that’s just the way Phoebe was, but she was loyal to the core of everybody.
‘She loved, respected, and valued her life.’
Kaylea thanked all those who attended the candlelit vigil before being left unable to continue as she burst into tears.
Pheobe was reported missing after failing to check in and board a flight to Perth, where she planned to meet up with her boyfriend, who Daily Mail Australia is not naming because of his age.
Indy, a relative of Pheobe’s boyfriend, was present at the vigil and shared some words on his behalf.
Pheobe’s loved ones shared touching tributes to the 17-year-old
Onlookers broke down in tears during the emotional candlelit vigil
The Gin Gin community came together to celebrate Pheobe’s life
‘In the quiet space where your laughter once lived, your absence echoes louder than words can say, 17 years, a brief dance of light, yet in that time you touched hearts in many ways that will never fade,’ Indy said.
‘You were a spark, bright, bold, and unafraid, as her family have shared with us, today. The soul who embraced life with open arms.
‘Now in the stillness, we hold on to the warmth of his spirit, the kindness in your eyes in the joy and the smile.
‘Your journey was cut short, but your impact is yours, with every whispered memory, with every tear shed, and every heart that carries you forward, you live on.
‘Rest now, dear Phoebe. In the peace you deserve, I know that you are loved forever and always. Love from Levi.’
Pheobe’s mum Kylie urged the Gin Gin community to ‘respect’ Bromley’s family after she was charged with the 17-year-old’s murder.
Last week, a court heard Bromley cared for two children, including one living with a disability, as part of a shared custody arrangement.
Pheobe’s mum Kylie asked the community not to ‘retaliate’ against Bromley’s family
Kylie held her daughter Kaylea as she shared a powerful speech in honour of her sister
Kaylea danced with members of the Gin Gin community at the end of Sunday’s vigil
Bromley appeared in the Bundaberg Magistrates Court via video link on Monday and again on Tuesday, when she was granted bail, after being charged with weapons offences, including possessing restricted items and unlawful possession of a short firearm.
Kylie bravely called on the local community to support Bromley’s family and said her daughter would want people to show ‘compassion’.
‘I also want to remind our community a very important reminder, and this is imperative for our family and for for us to move forward in our healing,’ she said.
‘I know Tanika has been charged. I know her family live within our community and I expect them to receive respect, and I expect them to receive the respect that they deserve.
‘They have the not made the decisions that this woman is accused of. They are not guilty of any of those actions. Those kids mean the world to us as a family.
‘They meant the world to Phoebe as a family as well. It is imperative to us, as a family, that they are supported just as much as us. They are hurting probably more than us, even though we have lost our child.
‘But I really need you to know that Phoebe’s compassion would have reached that depth. There is to be no anger or hate towards that family.’
Kylie thanked Bundaberg Police and the State Emergency Service for their efforts in locating her daughter
Pheobe’s sister Kaylea told mourners her younger sister saw the ‘good in everyone’
The candlelit vigil saw several of Pheobe’s loved ones share kind words in her memory
‘That person will be brought to justice in a way that justice deserves to be brought to. But that is not dependent on her family, and I need everybody to know that,’ she added.
Kylie read out two poems in memory of her ‘gypsy warrior’ daughter as she shared how Pheobe ‘always sung her own tune’ and ‘lived to the fullest’.
The grieving mother told mourners her daughter loved those she cared about ‘to every extent of the earth’.
‘She had a gypsy soul and a warrior spirit. She made no apologies for her wild heart and anybody that knew her knew that she made no apologies for any of her opinions,’ she continued.
‘She left normal and regular to explore the outskirts of magical and extraordinary, and she was glorious. She was, and she continues to be and we will make sure that she is remembered for that brilliance and that gypsy soul that she had.’
Kylie told mourners her daughter’s spirit ‘lives on with each and every one of us’.
‘Each time we travel, each time we talk about her, each time we say, “Phoebe had an opinion about this or Phoebe gave me a heart and showed me love and compassion and held my children like nobody had ever held them before.”
Kaylea had previously begged for help finding her sister’s body outside Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Friday after Bromley and Wood’s murder charges were heard
Kylie thanked the Gin Gin community for their support during the past three weeks of ‘hell’
Kaylea broke down in tears while paying tribute to her sister
‘That’s the Phoebe we remember, that’s the Phoebe we honour and that’s the Phoebe that we take every day and everywhere with us.’
Kylie described the three weeks since Pheobe disappeared as ‘hell’ before thanking the community for their support and remembering her daughter.
A family friend yesterday launched a GoFundMe in the teenager’s memory, with proceeds going to the SES and Y Schools Bundaberg, which Pheobe attended.
It has so far raised over $5,000.
On Friday, Pheobe’s older sister, Kaylea, 18, 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.
Kylie told mourners her daughter’s spirit ‘lives on’ through those who loved her and continue to share their memories of Pheobe
Kylie read two poems in honour of her daughter, who she said had a ‘gypsy soul and a warrior spirit’
‘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.’
It comes as the house where Pheobe lived has been turned into a shrine, with a makeshift memorial appearing at the ramshackle, rubbish-strewn Gin Gin home Pheobe shared with Bromley and Wood.
A large pink teddy bear stood guard over the property, surrounded with bouquets of flowers.
A poignant message left by one mourner read: ‘Pheobe, you grew your wings too early beautiful girl. Now, you will no longer feel pain or heartache. You can spread your wings, and know you will be loved.’
