Pheobe Bishop’s big sister shares a very strange request for mourners as hundreds come together in Gin Gin for a moving vigil
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, 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’
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.’
More to follow.
