Frantic Search for 4-Year-Old Shayla Phillips, Who Disappeared With Neighbor’s Dog
Every minute 4-year-old Shayla Phillips remains missing feels like an eternity for her mother, who last saw her playing in the backyard with two neighborhood dogs on Wednesday afternoon, now more than 24 hours ago. Every minute that passes also worries authorities who are increasingly concerned for the child’s welfare, knowing that the first 24 hours are crucial in any missing child case. “As we enter day two of the search for Shayla, increasing concerns are held for her welfare,” Chief inspector Gavin Hallett said Thursday morning. “Her mother is very stoic, very strong and positive, and is hopeful that we will find Shayla today.”
Bianca Phillips, the child’s mother, says her 8-year-old son was playing video games in the house when the younger child—who has long curly brown hair and was wearing pink leggings and rain boots—went outside to play with two dogs that had wandered over from a neighbor’s house, which her mother said was common, according to Australian media outlets.
When the mother went out to check on the little girl around 2:30 p.m. local time, about 30 minutes after she went outside, the child—and one of the dogs—was gone. She immediately searched the property, which butts up against bush land and what police describe as “undulating pastureland” in the Stormlea area of the Tasmanian peninsula.