The distressed father of a 22-year old New South Wales man who went missing after a heated argument with a friend on New Year’s Eve just wants his son home safe.
Jayden Penno-Tompsett disappeared near a Charters Towers roadhouse in far-north Queensland in the early hours of December 31 after being left behind by his friends.
His father, Brendan Tompsett, says he doesn’t care about the ‘sketchy’ details that led to his son being abandoned – all he wants is to know is if Jayden’s okay.
‘What we really want is we need to know that he’s okay, as you can imagine the worst thing is the not knowing. We don’t care what the issues were, that’s really secondary at this point…Just let us know he’s safe,’ Mr Tompsett told News.com.au.
Brendan Tompsett (pictured) says he doesn’t care about the ‘sketchy’ details that led to his son being abandoned in far-north Queensland – all he wants is to know is if he’s okay
‘To not be in touch with some of his mates and to not let anyone know … From what police have told me he hasn’t used his bank account so that is fairly concerning. It’s got scary.’
A large land and air search was conducted by Queensland police in the Tower Hill area Thursday, but was scaled back after authorities failed to find Mr Penno-Tompsett or any items of interest.
Mr Penno-Tompsett, from New South Wales, planned the trip for months before setting off with a group of friends from Newcastle, north of Sydney.
Jayson Hungerford was the friend that contacted Jayden’s father to tell him of his disappearance, which he described as ‘out of character’.
Jayden Penno-Tompsett disappeared near a Charters Towers roadhouse in far-north Queensland in the early hours of December 31 after being left behind by his friends
‘I think it was just the argument with his mate and because it was his mates car I’m thinking he just didn’t want to get back in his car cause they were fighting…But it is out of character for him,’ he said.
The young adult was hoping his pal was simply hitch hiking his way home and was unaware of the panic his long journey was causing.
Mr Penno-Tompsett’s father said he didn’t care what was going on, he just needed to know his son was alright.
The distraught father said it was the ‘worst thing ever’ to have his child missing and to have no answers – especially with him now gone for five days.
Mr Penno-Tompsett has not made contact with friends or family since he was last seen near a Charters Towers roadhouse (pictured) in the early hours of December 31
Mr Penno-Tompsett planned the trip for months before setting out with a group of friends from Newcastle
The group planned to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Cairns, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The missing man’s father Brendan Tompsett said his son had an argument in a car with a friend shortly before his disappearance.
‘We don’t really care what the issues are, we don’t care about any of that, we just need to know he’s safe,’ Mr Tompsett said.
‘Anything that’s gone on doesn’t really matter at this point – we just need to hear from him. It’s a parent’s worst nightmare. It’s horrible, it really is horrible.’
He described his son as ‘just a wild Newy boy’ who had been working in the demolition industry.
A search covering a huge land area in the Tower Hill region is underway and expected to continue at first light on Friday.
Senior Sergeant Dean Cavanagh described the terrain as ‘quite rocky and hilly’ but said it was ‘almost impossible’ to get lost in the area where the 22-year-old was last seen because of the large number of properties.
Mr Penno-Tompsett was last seen wearing a black singlet, navy blue board shorts, and black and red thongs.