Tahnee SHANKS
Tahnee SHANKS
The family of an Australian woman missing in Mexico has hired a private investigator to try to find her, claiming they've had "nothing but dramas" in dealing with Mexican authorities.
Next week marks two months since Tahnee Shanks, 32, was reported missing after her daughter Adelynn was found alone outside a church in Cancun, hours from home.
Ms Shanks's ex-partner was also still missing.
Their daughter was now living in Queensland after Ms Shanks's brother and mother flew to Cancun to rescue her.
Dan Shanks said his family was in a race against time and hiring a private investigator (PI) was their last-ditch effort to get a breakthrough in the case.
"He's one of the head people in Criminology in Mexico," he said.
"He's had great success but in a certain window."
Mr Shanks said it took more than three weeks for his sister's files to be passed on from authorities to the PI.
"Because we've been held up for so long through the Mexican authorities that window has sort of passed now (for critical information)," he said.
The ABC asked to speak with the PI and the Attorney General of Quintana Roo, but neither had replied.
Mr Shanks, who took out a loan against his home to fund a reward for information, said the family had hit continuous roadblocks in trying to get information from authorities on the search for his sister.
"We've actually put in a complaint through to the [Australia Human Rights Commission] relating to the case files," Dan Shanks said.
"When it comes to telling us what they're actually doing, they're not very forthcoming with any of that information.
"I've got to deal with the people in Australia who send it through to the Australian Embassy and Mexico who then talk to the Mexican authorities."
The family said they relied on help from people on the ground in Mexico to give them updates.
The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) were unable to release information about individual complaints.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) also would not comment due to privacy, but in a statement a spokesperson said DFAT was continuing to support the family in Australia.
"Staff from the Australian Embassy in Mexico continue to engage with Mexican authorities on the investigation into the disappearance of Tahnee Shanks," the spokesperson said.
In the past two years, the total number of registered disappearances in Mexico has risen from 73,000 to more than 100,000, according to the national registry of missing people kept by Mexico's Attorney General's Office.
Amnesty International's latest statistics show that in 2021, authorities registered 7,698 cases of missing people, of whom 31 per cent were women.
It is also stated that "impunity largely prevailed on this issue, with just 35 convictions for the crime of enforced disappearance".
"I just know life is so cheap over there, and Tahnee is just another missing person. At the end of the day it doesn't really mean much to anyone over there," Mr Shanks said.
"We haven't even started the grieving process yet, because we're hoping we don't have to go there but that's inevitable at this stage."