Mother steps up son hunt
THE mother of Jayden Penno-Tompsett, who went missing on a trip to Cairns, is stepping up the search.
After hiring and firing a private investigator, she is scouring the countryside of Charters Towers on her own.
Rachel Penno has also employed psychics as she tries every avenue to find information about her son, missing for a month.
Police first issued a media release on January 3 saying the 22-year-old from Newcastle, New South Wales was missing.
He was last seen in the early hours of December 31 last year near a roadhouse on Thompson St (Flinders Highway) in Charters Towers. He has not been seen since. Police have concerns for his welfare as he has had no contact with family or friends, which is out of character for him.
Jayden is about 175cm tall and has mousy brown hair. He was last seen wearing a black singlet, navy blue board shorts, and black and red thongs.
The first Ms Penno knew anything was amiss was when she received a message from a friend who had seen a post on Facebook about 4pm on Wednesday, January 4.
“That’s when I rang (NSW) police and they put me through up there (Queensland) and they filled me in on what little they knew at the time,” Ms Penno said. “It was a bit of a shock.” He had been driving with his friend Lucas Tattersall from Newcastle to Cairns.
It’s thought the two men argued about something – possibly money – and Mr Penno-Tompsett, who was driving, pulled over and left the vehicle.
It was the last time he was seen.
Charters Towers police station officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Graham Lohmann said inquiries were continuing in both Queensland and NSW.