Skip to Content

Missing Australian Mother’s Burnt Out Van Found in Cancun As Daughter Reunited With Family

Share The Article

Last Updated

New Shocking Developments Cast More Doubt On Mother’s Safety

The missing person case involving Australian Tahnee Shanks and her young daughter has taken several strange twists in the past few days, casting doubts upon the safety of the woman. Police are following multiple different directions in their investigation.

nightime in cancun

The investigation has taken an even darker turn with the discovery of a burnt-out van, a worrying security video, and the possible involvement of organized crime.

The case drew international attention last week after two-year-old Addy was found wandering alone barefoot outside a church in Cancun. Her discovery sparked a statewide search for her mother and father, with the most widely assumed theory involving the father responsible for the events.

police car in city

Tahnee was intending to head home to Australia in the coming months after the relationship with the child’s father broke down. Reports from Tahnee’s family suggest he got another woman pregnant. The two had supposedly come to an agreement in regards to young Addy staying with Tahnee in Australia and were taking a short trip when the sequence of events changed everything.

Information has poured in since the pair’s disappearance. It emerged that the pair had booked a room in Cancun for one night, stayed, and began heading home to Merida. At some point, however, the couple turned back around for unknown reasons.

burnt out car

Different theories and lines of inquiry form at this point in the story. Several witnesses have claimed that her husband, Jorge Aguirre Estudillo, was the one who left Addy at the Church. These are being followed up as closely as possible, but full verification is extremely hard.

The van the two used to travel back and forth from Merida has since been found burnt out in Puerto Morelos, around 40 minutes South of Cancun, seemingly confirming some kind of found play.

cancun at night

The discovery of the van has prompted another line of investigation that would absolve Estudllio’s involvement in the disappearance and make him a victim. The direction of that investigation would implicate organized crime and the possibility that the disappearance was a random attack by criminals for the purpose of robbing them or holding them for ransom at some point.

Another worrying development involves the seizure of security footage which shows a woman being forced into the back of a van similar to the one found. Tahnee has not been verified as the woman in the video, but the police are analyzing it for evidence. No further information has been released regarding the video.

church in cancun

While this has been taking place, Tahnee’s family has traveled from Australia to take little Addy to safety. Since being discovered, she has been placed with domestic services for her protection. There were concerns that she would not be released while the investigation was ongoing, but her grandmother and uncle arrived in Cancun this week to collect her.

She is currently safe in Australia with the rest of her family for the first time. Tahnee had been unable to visit her home country since giving birth due to Australia’s strict lockdown rules and border closures.

The family has already expressed their concern that it may be too late to find Tahnee. Her brother, Dan, has spoken at length with several media outlets, suggesting that her husband was to blame for her disappearance, although it should be noted that anything he said is speculation at this point.

police at night

The investigation will continue with hopes that a positive outcome may emerge, but the new evidence is painting a worrying picture for everyone involved. The Cancun Sun will report further developments as they become available. Anyone in the Cancun area with any potential information should contact the police as soon as possible.

Plan Your Next Cancun Vacation:

Traveler Alert: Don’t Forget Travel Insurance For Your Next Trip!

Choose From Thousands of Cancun and Riviera Maya Hotels, Resorts and Hostels with Free Cancellation On Most Properties


↓ Join the community ↓

The Cancun Sun Community FB group has all the latest travel news, conversations and tourism Q&A’s for the Mexican Caribbean

the-cancun-Sun-facebook-group

Subscribe to our Latest Posts

Enter your email address to subscribe to The Cancun Sun’s latest breaking news affecting travelers, straight to your inbox.