Tough Christmas for elderly Aussie with missing wife
GEORGE TOWN: Christmas will not be the same this year for Frank Jenkins and his family as his wife is still missing.
The New Straits Times got in touch with Frank’s daughter, Jen Bowen, 39, who said her father was having a tough time without his wife and her mother, Annapuranee Jenkins, 65, known as Anna, by his side.
It has been 12 days since Anna went missing after a routine visit to a dentist in Burma Road, Pulau Tikus, on Dec 13 at 3pm.
Bowen said Anna did everything for Frank, 78, from cooking to dressing him.
“Poor dad has been traumatised and very worried. This is not helping his memory, either. He is quite upset today (yesterday) and understandably does not want to celebrate Christmas tomorrow (today) without her by his side.
“We are trying to divert his attention. I will take him to eat at a picnic spot he and mum loved.
“He will be in church tonight and tomorrow as well, with the hope that she will return,” she said on Facebook yesterday.
Anna and her husband are from Adelaide, Australia, and were in Penang for a two-week holiday beginning Dec 5.
It was reported that Anna went missing after visiting a dentist on Dec 13. After the visit, she wanted to go to the Little Sisters of the Poor home in Lorong Batu Lanchang to meet her 101-year-old mother, Mary Anne. But, she suddenly asked her Uber driver to stop at the Jalan Scotland traffic light.
However, the driver insisted on dropping her at the nearby SJK (T) Ramakrishna, according to a police report.
Closed-circuit television camera footage showed that the car left the area, but there was no sign of her. Police are looking for Anna, but have no new leads on her whereabouts.
In an interview with 7News Adelaide, Frank said he received a “cryptic call” from Anna telling him she was harassed by people asking for her passport. That was the last he heard from her.
Bowen said Frank could not remember the whole incident involving the phone call.
“We have been told that there was no record of the phone call.
“We have requested an itemised account of incoming calls made to my father’s phone from the mobile provider to see if we can obtain information on this key point. Phone records are also being looked at in the hotel.”