Markiah MAJOR
Markiah MAJOR
17 year old Markiah Major was last seen in Westcourt QLD on August 15 2023 and has not been seen since. He is described as First Nations, approximately 150cm tall, slim build with dark hair and eyes.
Family and police are concerned for his welfare as the disappearance is out of character.
Anyone with information regarding the disappearance of Markiah Major is asked to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
A Far North Queensland grandmother says she is desperately "crying out for answers" about her teenage grandson, who has been missing for almost two months.
'Auntie' Adelaide Sands said 17-year-old Markyia Major had not been seen since he ran into a relative's Yarrabah home, near Cairns, between 3am and 4am on August 27.
She said the family had asked him to stay, but he asked for a drink of water before leaving in a car.
"We are desperate. We are crying out for answers," Auntie Adelaide said.
The teen's mother Kamaree Major, who last saw her son in mid-August, said his disappearance had torn her family.
"I'm not sleeping, the family are devastated," she said.
"Someone out there knows something and they need to tell police," she said.
Cairns police last month launched a major investigation into the teen's disappearance.
Police have today told the ABC that the investigation is ongoing and urged anyone with information to come forward.
The teen's family and members of the Yarrabah community today gathered on the beach, holding missing person posters of the teenager.
Ms Major said initially the family thought he may have been "hiding out in fear".
"But the longer it goes on — with every day that passes — our fear for him grows stronger.
"As a mother I need to know."
In recent months Markyia had been living in central Cairns, 10km west of Yarrabah.
Maternal grandmother 'Auntie' Adelaide said Markyia was a quiet boy who loved fishing but had become involved with "the wrong crew".
"Nobody cannot know nothing, I believe someone does know something about Markyia."
Paternal grandmother Moira Murgha said she last saw Markyia at a family barbecue in August and his disappearance was out of character.
"We just thought he went walkabout but it's been a bit too long," Ms Murgha said.
"He usually goes on a week's outing and back home again, he always comes back home."
Ms Murgha said the family had been searching Yarrabah and Cairns.
"We go out and search the beaches too, looking around the city, friends' places," she said.
She and the family appealed to Markyia and anyone who may know where he is to come forward.
"Markyia come home, your family are here, worried and stressed," Ms Murgha said.
"Your brothers and sisters are missing you, everyone's missing you. Just come home.
"Whatever you've done, we'll try and fix it."
Anyone with information can call Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.
Land and water searches have so far failed to find any sign of a teenager who hasn't been seen for almost three months.
Police say Markiah Major, 17, was last seen by his family in Yarrabah, an Indigenous community near Cairns, in mid-August.
His bank accounts have not been touched and no-one has heard from him since then.
Police this week conducted a two-day search of bushland, beaches and waterways south of Yarrabah.
Detective Acting Inspector Jason Chetham said the area was chosen because of the discovery off Back Beach Road of a Volkswagen Polo, which was stolen from the Tablelands in August and believed to have been used by Markiah.
"It's reasonably remote, it's someplace that only really locals would go to," he said.
The search involved SES, police recruits and Yarrabah residents as well as dog and dive squads.
"Unfortunately, at this point in time, we haven't located any items this week that are of relevance to this investigation," Inspector Chetham said.
"The truth is we don't know what's happened to Markiah at this point in time."
He said if Markiah was with the car when he went missing, the "window of survivability has well and truly passed".
Inspector Chetham said there had been several challenges in the investigation, including defining when Markiah was last seen.
"There had been a period of about two weeks before Markiah was reported missing, so from the 19th of August to the 2nd of September, that period, he was unknown to be missing to us," he said.
"There are areas of that search grid which are virtually impenetrable, and things could be missed because it's so thick."
He said while there was no evidence to suggest Markiah met with foul play, they believed the teenager was unlikely to be alive.
"We've been very frank with the family and I think they're accepting of that, [we believe] that if he was if he was able to contact his family, that he would have," he said.
Inspector Chetham said he didn't want to speculate on what may have happened to the teenager if he went into the bush.
"But obviously, there's a number of explanations that could explain why someone didn't come out of there, but we're keeping all options open at this point in time," he said.
The family of a missing Far North Queensland teen feared dead believe an inquest will not give them answers, but they have vowed not to give up.
The family of a missing Far North Queensland teen feared dead believe an inquest will not give them answers, but they have vowed not to give up.
A coronial inquest will be held into the disappearance and suspected death of the Yarrabah teen Markiah Major, 17, who has not been seen since August last year.
Coroner Stephanie Williams will lead the inquest and a pre-inquest conference is scheduled for April 24 in Yarrabah.
But Markiah’s family say they don’t believe an inquest will lead to answers.
The family say they are frustrated with the investigation.
“We are still in the dark,” Markiah’s grandmother Adelaide Sands said.
“A lot of information has gone through to the police and they didn’t come back and inform us what they have done with it.
“We don’t seem to be winning anywhere.”
Markiah was last seen in August last year with police revealing that his bank accounts had not been touched and no one has spoken to him since.
In November police launched an extensive two day land and water search of bushland, beaches, and waterways surrounding Yarrabah.
Police have found no evidence suggesting the teen met with foul play.
The family said they were supposed to meet with police last week.
“We were supposed to have a meeting but they didn’t show, but then they were supposed to come on Tuesday but couldn’t because of the rain and people couldn’t get in and out but he hasn’t got back to us still,” Ms Sands said.
She said the family has information they believe could find Markiah.
“It is very frustrating this is a long seven months with no fresh updates from police,” she said.
“We do have fresh information from the other grandmother but that is not being followed up and that information that they have got is very vital.”
The family believes there are people in the community who know more but are unwilling to come forward.
“People are not talking to the police or the detectives but they are talking to other people and letting it out in a little group and that is where that information is being leaked,” Markiah’s mother Kamaree said.
“We believe he is still out there but we just want these detectives to work with us and go and question (people) and do this follow up.
“Someone needs to be able to build that rapport with them and it could already be happening.”
Ms Sands said the inquest would rely on getting (people) to talk.
“The people who know something won’t be speaking,” she said.
“If it was Markiah who knew something we would be telling him to come forward to tell police what he knew.”
The family is asking to be kept up to date with the investigation.
“They could at least still come over and just meet with us,” Ms Sands said.
“It’s very, very frustrating.
“We are trusting them (the police but) we are going to end up being like (others in the community), we are not going to trust them.
“He’s only 17 you should go deeper into this.”
The family is resolute they will find answers.
“We are not going to give up, we are going to keep going and we want the police to keep going,” Ms Sands said.
“We miss our boy and we just want answers, it’s so sad and long and you can hear the pain in the family, we need to know something.”