Australian toddler found in Mexico: Details emerge about partner of missing Australian woman

The father of the young Australian girl found without her mother in the alleyways of Cancun had been deported from the US for fighting a police officer and was allegedly violent in a previous relationship.

Two-year-old Adelynn was found alone outside a church after being separated from mother Tahnee Shanks in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The little girl is now in the care of her Brisbane grandmother Leanne and uncle Ben Shanks who flew from Australia to Mexico to help search for Ms Shanks, who hasn’t been seen in six days.

Authorities in Mexico have issued a missing person alert for Adelynn’s 32-year-old mother, who was living in Queensland and had been planning on bringing her daughter home in the coming weeks.

They have also issued an alert for her biological father Jorge Aguirre Astudillo.

Witnesses claim they saw Adelynn’s father running from a church the night his daughter was found by authorities and hasn’t been seen since.

Jorge Aguirre Astudillo has not been seen since May 2 when he was with Australian native Tahnee Shanks, the mother of his two-year-old daughter. According to authorities he was deported from the US for fighting a police officer and being violent in a previous relationship

Abandoned toddler Adelynn Shanks, found wandering barefoot and alone at a church in Mexico, has been reunited with her Australian grandmother Leanne and uncle Ben Shanks

Abandoned toddler Adelynn Shanks, found wandering barefoot and alone at a church in Mexico, has been reunited with her Australian grandmother Leanne and uncle Ben Shanks

‘We have them both as missing victims until further progress in the investigation,’ the state’s attorney general said. 

Astudillo had been deported from the US previously for fighting police officer and was allegedly violent in a previous relationship, 9News reported.

Local police say they are reviewing ‘critical sections’ of the whereabouts of the parents involve that include Cancun, where the pair had visited recently

Adelynn’s family have since thanked ‘kind and generous people from all over the world’ who have shared their despair at the situation.

Her uncle and grandparents travelled from Australia to Mexico to be with the young girl, who was filmed hugging members of her family on Sunday evening. 

Tahnee Shanks (pictured right) had been traveling with her ex-partner Jorge Aguirre Astudillo (middle) and their daughter (left) in Mexico before she was reported as missing

Tahnee Shanks (pictured right) had been traveling with her ex-partner Jorge Aguirre Astudillo (middle) and their daughter (left) in Mexico before she was reported as missing

Tahnee Shanks and Adelynn were due to return to Australia in June. The two-year-old was found by neighbours at the Chapel of the San Archangel (pictured)

Tahnee Shanks and Adelynn were due to return to Australia in June. The two-year-old was found by neighbours at the Chapel of the San Archangel (pictured)

‘Our immediate goal is to get Addy, her uncle and grandmother home safely as soon as possible,’ the family said in a statement.

‘With several hurdles and red tape, this may take some time. We remain deeply concerned for the safety and whereabouts of Adelynn’s mother Tahnee.’

Tahnee’s brother Ben told 7News it was out of character for her sister to leave her daughter alone. 

‘There’s no way she would have left her. I don’t think she’s spent a day without her,’ he said.

‘She’s taken to us a lot better than I thought she would. I thought she’d be scared but she’s been great.’ 

Tahnee's two-year-old daughter Adelynn was found wandering the streets late at night

The two-year-old (pictured) is now reportedly in the care of family members

Tahnee’s two-year-old daughter Adelynn was found wandering the streets late at night

Two-year-old Adelynn is now under the care of Australian relatives after she was found alone at a church in Cancun as her parents are reported missing

Two-year-old Adelynn is now under the care of Australian relatives after she was found alone at a church in Cancun as her parents are reported missing

The parents had been planning on returning to their home in Merida in the country’s west on Sunday night but instead their burnt out car was found near Puerto Morelos, south of Cancun.

Police acknowledged the father’s criminal past but refused to name him as a suspect at this stage.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have been providing assistance to the family since Adelynn was found.

Queensland police are liasing with Mexican authorities and the National Missing Persons Coordination Centre to help try find her mother. 

Tahnee’s brother has been trying to contact Mr Astudillo, who drives a white Toyota Tundra. 

Daily Mail Australia doesn’t suggest that the ex-partner is involved in her disappearance. 

Tahnee Shanks' family insists she would never leave her little girl, who turned two last November

Tahnee Shanks’ family insists she would never leave her little girl, who turned two last November

A police public appeal for information about Ms Shanks’ whereabouts have been widely shared on both sides of the world. 

Daniel Shanks said his sister had ended her relationship with Mr Astudillo and was weeks away from heading home back to Australia with her daughter in June.

Ms Shanks moved eight years ago from Australia to Merida, Mexico. She split from her partner a year after Adelynn was born.

Mexico Police have launched a desperate search for missing Australian Tahnee Shanks

Mexico Police have launched a desperate search for missing Australian Tahnee Shanks

The devoted mum’s social media pages are full of happy snaps of her little girl.

The mother had been traveling the world since she was 18 and describes herself on social media as a ‘Happy Hippy Ginger Ninja meeting around the world one country at a time.’

Before she went overseas, she worked in Australia as an assistant nurse looking after the elderly, which she described as a rewarding career.

‘The travel bug bit me in 2010 taking me on my first 18 month journey through Asia and parts of Europe volunteering and couch surfing my way across the country,’ the freelance writer wrote on a travel blog for the Whitsundays.

Shanks returned home and saved for two years and then headed back overseas traveling through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and the United States before settling in Mexico. 

She is described as having a fair complexion, and has red hair, light brown eyes, 5 feet 4 inches tall, thin build and has a distinctive tattoo along her right thigh.



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