Tahnee Shanks with her daughter Adelynn. Photo / Supplied
Tahnee Shanks with her daughter Adelynn. Photo / Supplied
The brother of an Aussie mum missing in Mexico has claimed the woman's partner was seen dumping their 2-year-old daughter in Cancun and is now "on the run".
A frantic search is underway for Tahnee Shanks, 32, who had been living in Mexico with her partner Jorge Aguirre Estudillo and daughter Adelynn, after the toddler was found wandering the streets on Sunday evening near a local church.
The Whitsundays woman was last heard from at the weekend, about Sunday lunchtime in Australia, or Saturday night in Mexico.
Tahnee Shanks with daughter Adelynn and ex-partner Jorge Aguirre Estudillo. Photo / Facebook
She was believed to have been travelling to Tulum, about 130km away from Cancun, on a short trip with the girl and her ex-partner with whom she had recently separated. Her family believes she was on the verge of returning to Australia after a relationship breakdown with Jorge, who is also reportedly missing.
But speaking to Seven's Sunrise on Friday morning, her brother Daniel said he wanted to "clarify a few things".
There are grave fears for a Queensland mother missing in Mexico after her two-year-old daughter was found alone on the streets of Cancun at night. Tahnee Shanks' brother, Daniel, told Kochie and Nat he "knew something was wrong" when his sister vanished from social media. pic.twitter.com/OVrhcGNd9a
"We have got three eyewitnesses saying that it was him that dumped her there, and he is on the run. Tahnee is missing and he is on the run. We have got great concerns for our sister and we are doing everything we can to get her home safely."
Adelynn was found alone at a church in Cancun on Sunday evening. Photo / Facebook
Shanks' mother Leanne and other brother Ben are flying out to Mexico today, and the family is offering a $5000 reward for information.
Daniel was urging anyone who might know something to "please come out and speak".
"That is why we are putting the reward up. We are hoping somebody will risk their own safety to come out and give whatever information they can."
"He's on the run as far as we're concerned."
The brother of a Queensland mother missing in Mexico has revealed it was the woman's partner who dumped their two-year-old daughter in Cancún. #9Todaypic.twitter.com/QAS7ZZ9CNm
He described her disappearance as "very out of character".
"She is always on social media, she is always posting photos of her and Addie constantly, it is a constant stream of it, so for her to drop off, we knew something was wrong. We have got great concerns for her safety."
Tahnee Shanks' family have grave fears for her safety. Photo / Facebook
Daniel said his sister had not expected to become a mother but had "surprised herself" and "transformed into the most amazing mother on the planet".
"Addie is her whole life. For this to happen is just tragic and heartbreaking."
In another interview with 2GB's Ben Fordham on Friday morning, Daniel revealed his niece was safe in an orphanage.
"We've just had verification from the embassy, we've had photos of Adelynn and her condition – she's safe and healthy," he said.
Shanks had been living in Merida, 300km west of Cancun, "because [the city] was getting too dangerous", Daniel told the Mackay Daily Mercury earlier this week.
He said he feared the worst.
They allege Jorge was witnessed dumping Adelynn and is "on the run". Photo / Facebook
"To be honest, I think she's already gone," he said.
The ABC reported Shanks had been trying to get her daughter home to Australia for months.
"She had the boyfriend in agreeance to sign the paperwork for her to come," Daniel told the ABC.
But the pair apparently had a messy break-up after he got another woman pregnant.
Daniel said he last heard from his sister on Sunday via online messages that she was in a small fishing village with bad reception but "the messages didn't seem right".
"I'm assuming I was talking to him," he said.
Shanks' disappearance has gone viral across the Yucatán Peninsula.
