The Bundaberg community grieved together on Monday evening as they mourned the loss of 17-year-old Pheobe Bishop, a bright young life believed to have been tragically cut short.
Hundreds gathered in Buss Park for a solemn vigil, the second in as many days, to honour the teenager whose suspected remains were found in dense scrubland near Gin Gin late last week – more than three weeks after she vanished.
At the vigil, Pheobe’s older sister Kaylea delivered a tearful message that left many in the crowd wiping their eyes.
“I want to tell everybody, as much as your siblings p*** you off and grind your gears – because God, they know how to do that – don’t take them for granted,” she said. “Love every minute of it.”
Choking back tears, she added: “I would pay a million dollars to have her walk through the door and punch me on the arm. Don’t take it for granted. Just cherish it. Love the good and the bad. Worship it all. Capture the memories.”
The vigil brought together community leaders, friends, family and strangers united by shared sorrow. Music chosen by Pheobe’s family played in the background as people placed candles, flowers and handwritten messages into glass jars.
Mayor Helen Blackburn spoke on behalf of the city, reminding those gathered that the vigil was not just about mourning a young life lost, but celebrating how Pheobe had lived.
“Her passing has left a silence we all feel deeply,” she said. “But in the midst of this sorrow, something beautiful has happened – we’ve come together, paused our busy lives, set aside our differences and stood side by side.”
Pheobe’s mother, Kylie Johnson, spoke about the transformative role programs like the Y School and MAD Camp played in her daughter’s life. Both programs aim to support vulnerable teens by creating safe spaces and offering holistic, trauma-informed support. “She found purpose in those places,” Johnson said. “She would be proud that she got to travel the world without even leaving Australia. She’d be blown away by that support.”
The memorial marked three-and-a-half weeks since Pheobe disappeared on her way to Bundaberg Airport, where she had been preparing to fly to Western Australia to visit her boyfriend on May 15. She never checked in for her flight, and a police search followed.
On Friday afternoon, police discovered human remains believed to be hers in thick bushland within the Good Night Scrub National Park, about 50km west of Bundaberg. Formal identification has not yet been confirmed, and police say a complex forensic process is underway to determine the cause of death.
Her phone and luggage remain missing.
Two of Pheobe’s housemates, James Wood, 34, and Tanika Bromley, 33, have been charged with murder and two counts of interfering with a corpse. Investigations are ongoing.
As the community waits for answers, the vigils have become a quiet act of collective remembrance, and a reminder, as Kaylea said, to never take the ones we love for granted.
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