Pheobe Bishop: Housemate James Wood hounded over missing teen’s disappearance

Tension is at boiling point in the small Queensland town where Pheobe Bishop was living before she mysteriously vanished, with one of the last people to see her alive now being hounded by locals.

Pheobe’s housemate James Wood has been videoed sleeping in his car and harassed by angry locals as the investigation into her disappearance grinds into its third week.

The 17-year-old has not been seen or heard from since she failed to check in for a flight from Bundaberg Airport to WA on May 15.

Mr Wood and Pheobe’s other housemate, Tanika Bromley, told police they dropped her to the airport for her 8.30am flight but CCTV shows she never made it.

Their run-down, garbage-strewn house and the Hyundai they said they used to drop Pheobe to the airport were both declared crime scenes early on in the investigation.

There is no suggestion Mr Wood or Ms Bromley were involved in Pheobe’s disappearance. Police said both had been cooperating with the investigation.

After the search of the car, the pair were each charged with unrelated weapons offences after police allegedly found a shortened firearm, ammunition and two replica handguns during a search of the vehicle.

Mr Wood and Ms Bromley have both been released on bail, with conditions including that they do not contact each other. They are due to appear in court again in June.

Police are also looking into altered number plates allegedly seen on the car after it was released following its forensic examination.

On Thursday, Mr Wood was confronted by an angry local as he slept in the driver’s seat of his car with a dog in the backseat at a park and was prodded with an umbrella through a window to wake him up, the Daily Mail reported.

“He’s here, he’s hiding here,” she yelled as others watched on.

“...Justice for Pheobe! Justice for Pheobe!”

Mr Wood then drove away and was later sighted at a fast food drive-thru.

He was also spotted outside court last week on the day Ms Bromley was due to appear on weapons charges. Asked by gathered media if he had anything say, he responded “no comment”.

Ms Bromley has also been seen in public as she reports to the local police station as part of her bail conditions.

Asked if Mr Woods was a suspect in Pheobe’s disappearance or if they had concerns for his safety given the heightened emotion around the case, Queensland police told The Nightly it would be “inappropriate to comment in relation to an individual”.

They also said that the Gin Gin property where Mr Wood had been living had been processed and was no longer a crime scene.

Police say the investigation into Pheobe’s disappearance was ongoing, with the greater Gin Gin area remaining the focus.

Meanwhile, Pheobe’s heartbroken mother has issued a fresh plea on social media for any information about her disappearance alongside a poster that she has urged people to share.

“People have been asking how to help!

“Share this poster! Save it to your phone, talk to anyone and everyone in the rural community in Gin Gin and surroundings areas. Someone has seen this car between May 15th-May 19th.

“The people we need to show this to are the ones with limited access to social media and or don’t have it at all.”

Anyone with information, vision or sightings of Pheobe or the grey Hyundai ix35 between May 15 to 18 in the greater Gin Gin area has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000.