A two-year-old Australian girl was found walking alone in the streets of Mexico after her mother went missing.

The Australian mom was 32-year-old Tahnee Shanks. The Daily Mail reported that Shanks was originally from Whitsundays, Queensland, and only moved to Mexico. She reportedly lived in Mexico with her partner Jorge Aguirre Estudillo and their two-year-old daughter Adelynn.

According to Shanks' brother, Dan, his niece was "dumped" at a church in Mexico's tourist town of Cancun late at night. The Australian girl was later found wandering the streets after her photos circulated online.

Dan noted that he had offered a $5,000 reward for his sister's safe return. He also spent the last two days communicating with Mexican and Australian authorities.

Dan last contacted his sister around noon on Sunday Australian time and Saturday in Mexico. In a Cancun Expats Facebook group, Shanks' brother wrote a public appeal for information about her sister's whereabouts.

Police in Mexico had also issued the same appeal to the public. Shanks was reportedly a few weeks away from heading home back to Australia with her daughter. 

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Australian Woman Tahnee Shanks Disappears in Mexico

The family of Tahnee Shanks is expecting her to go back to Australia next month after she recently separated from her partner.

It is not yet known whether Shanks' ex-boyfriend was involved in her disappearance. According to News.Au, Jorge Aguirre Estudillo is also reportedly missing. Shanks' brother, Dan, said he fears the worst has already occurred, adding that he thinks that his sister is already gone.

According to Shanks' other brother, Ben, he was sure that his sister would not leave her daughter alone like that. The Australian girl was found outside the Parroquia San Miguel Arcangel.

The Australian woman was reportedly enjoying a short holiday break with her ex-boyfriend and their daughter when she last spoke to her brother Dan on Sunday. She also sent photos of El Cuyo and told Dan that they were next heading to Tulum.

Her family raised the alarm after receiving late-night phone calls on Tuesday regarding photos of Adelynn that had surfaced online after she was found alone.

Shanks had been living in Merida in Mexico's Yucatan state. The Australian woman was reportedly waiting to receive her daughter's passport and had booked plane tickets to arrive in Australia on June 22.

Adelynn is currently being cared for by a child protection agency in Mexico. Ben and Shanks' mom, Leanne, will reportedly fly to Mexico on Friday.

Missing Persons in Mexico

Authorities in Mexico are struggling to resolve the crisis of missing persons, with about 100,000 people officially registered as missing, according to La Prensa Latina.

From 1964 to April this year, 98,423 people have disappeared in Mexico based on the National Registry of Disappeared or Non-Located Persons, which updates the figures daily.

Data from the National Search Commission of the Mexican interior ministry showed that Jalisco has the highest number of missing persons, with 14,915 cases. Tamaulipas followed with 11,916, Mexico City with 10,720, and Nuevo Leon with 6,148.

The crisis of missing persons in Mexico started in 2006 when former Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched his war on drugs.

Mexico has seen tragic cases of missing people like the 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College. The students were forcibly abducted and disappeared in 2014, and only three have their remains found and identified so far.

READ MORE: Mexico: 90,000 People Have Disappeared Without a Trace Amid Drug War

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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