OPERATION PENANG
Special ops to the stars lead hunt for missing Aussie
A CRACK squad of Gold Coast ex-military and police that provide security for A-listers and sports greats such as boxing legend Manny Pacquiao is leading the search for an Australian woman who mysteriously “vanished” a month ago while holidaying in Penang, Malaysia. The desperate son of Annapuranee “Anna” Jenkins has hired Panoptic Solutions to find his South Australian mother, aged in her 60s. She has not been seen since an Uber driver dropped her off following a dental appointment on December 13. “We know she doesn’t have her passport, doesn’t have a mobile phone, doesn’t seem to have any cards. It’s obviously quite concerning,” Panoptic Solutions founder Troy Claydon said from Penang yesterday.
CRACK squad of Gold Coast ex-military and police are leading an international hunt for an Australian woman who mysteriously “vanished” holidaying in Malaysia.
The desperate Brisbanebased son of missing South Australian Annapuranee “Anna” Jenkins has hired private high-end security firm Panoptic Solutions in a bid to track her down.
Mrs Jenkins, aged in her mid-60s, was on holiday with her Vietnam veteran husband Frank Jenkins, 70, in Penang, Malaysia, when she disappeared on December 13.
She had gone alone to a dental appointment before catching an Uber – seemingly en route to visit her mother in a Penang rest home. But a police chief has told local media her driver dropped her 4km from the intended destination at her request.
She has not been seen since, local media have reported.
Panoptic Solutions founder Troy Claydon has been in Penang for a week, leading the family’s private search and told the Bulletin by all accounts she was of completely sound mind.
Mr Claydon said there was no known rift in the family. “It’s an odd case,” he said.
The circumstances of her last known movements were “unusual”, Mr Claydon said, adding she didn’t have her passport or bank cards and she allegedly asked to be dropped off at an “odd location”.
“There is CCTV footage of the driver departing without her but no other footage.
“There are CCTV cameras along the main road but the local police didn’t check them in time and they have now been wiped over.”
Panoptic operations manager Ben Hosking, a former search and rescue assistant coordinator for the Northern Territory police, is helping coordinate the hunt in Penang from the Gold Coast.
A photo supplied by Panoptic from CCTV shows her leaving the Jen Hotel where she and Frank were staying on the
day of her disappearance, while he looks on in the background.
Local media reported she asked her Uber driver to drop her at Jalan Scotland instead of her actual destination, the Little Sisters of the Poor Home in Batu Lanchang.
The place she was last seen when dropped off on Scotland Rd is a busy intersection but it is unclear why she asked to be let out where she did.
Mr Claydon said the dentist and Uber driver had both been spoken to and their stories appeared to “check out”.
The driver had taken them on the route where he drove her and was “distraught” about the disappearance.
Mr Claydon said they remained open to all scenarios – including her having had some sort of medical episode through to being the victim of foul play or an abduction.
“There is potential she has got into another vehicle, whether forcibly or voluntarily.
“We know she doesn’t have her passport, doesn’t have a mobile phone, doesn’t seem to have any cards. It’s obviously quite concerning.
“It is frustrating for everyone and you have to feel for the family.”
The missing woman’s son, who said he knew Panoptic team members via a mutual military connection, said he hired them in the hope of a breakthrough.
“We were struggling to get any more information from authorities or anyone over here so it’s a bit of a desperate plea,” the son said.
“But we are still fairly positive, we’re operating on the basis no news is good news.”
In their bid to trace where she might be, Mr Claydon said they walked the route from where she was dropped to the rest home.
Yesterday, they went back and were catching buses departing from the area to track those routes.
They have had a manA
● ANNAPURANEE JENKINS WAS LAST SEEN LEAVING THE JEN HOTEL
● SHE HAD GONE TO THE DENTIST BEFORE CATCHING AN UBER — SEEMINGLY EN ROUTE TO VISIT HER MOTHER
● SHE WAS DROPPED OFF 4KM FROM HER DESTINATION IN GEORGE TOWN
nequin with them dressed in similar clothes to what she was wearing, hoping it might jog the memory of anyone who might have seen her.
Mrs Jenkins was the primary caregiver for her husband Frank, who suffers from dementia and has since returned to Australia.
The couple, who have been married for 40 years, arrived in Penang on December 5 to visit Mrs Jenkin’s 101-year-old mother, who was sick.
Mr Jenkins said his wife had never gone missing before but in the past 12 months had displayed signs of mental health issues.
He said Mrs Jenkins began believing that people were following her and were out to get her and the family believed she may have gone into hiding.
“We think she might be paranoid about someone tailing her in a car or walking,” he said.
“She’s very religious and she stops out the front of people’s houses and says prayers and some people don’t like that, naturally. She thought that everyone was against her.”
Mr Jenkins said the family was extremely worried about Mrs Jenkins and were taking it in turns to travel to Penang to continue to look for her.
“We looked around the churches and hospitals and so forth,” he said.
“And then when I went back (to Australia) my son (Greg) went over and he stayed there for a week and he went everywhere and dropped flyers and then he came back and then my daughter Jen did the same thing and dropped the signs everywhere and then…Greg went over again.”
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade statement said it was providing consular assistance in accordance with the Consular Services Charter to “the family of an Australian woman reported missing in Malaysia”.
“Owing to our privacy obligations we will not provide further comment.”