n abandoned toddler who was found wandering barefoot and alone at a church in Mexico has been united with Australian relatives.
The desperate search remains for two-year-old Adelynn’s mother Tahnee Shanks, 32, who was reported missing with the child’s father Jorge Aguirre Astudillo.
Little Adelynn was spotted outside the chapel in Cancun on Sunday evening but is reportedly now in the care of her grandmother and uncle who’d flown from Australia to help in the search for Ms Shanks.
Adelyn had previously been cared for by Mexican child welfare authorities before her relatives arrived. She has also now received an emergency Australian passport, Nine News reported.
Ms Shanks’ brother Daniel said ‘three eyewitnesses’ saw Mr Astudillo leave his daughter Adelynn Shanks outside the Chapel of the San Archangel.
Daniel Shanks told the ABC that his sister, who is from Queensland’s Whitsundays, claimed she was on a vacation with her family in a small fishing village with poor reception but something felt off.
‘I’m assuming I was talking to him (Astudillo),’ he said.
Ms Shanks had been holidaying around the Yucatan peninsula and was set to return to Australia after her relationship broke down with her partner Mr Astudillo.
The distraught sibling said Ms Shanks had stopped using social media days before she went missing.
Mr Shanks is unable to travel to Mexico himself because he is unvaccinated.
‘Look, it is very out of character, she is always on social media, she is always posting photos of her and Addie constantly, it is a constant stream of it, so for her to drop off, we knew something was wrong,’ Mr Shanks told Sunrise on Friday.
‘For this to happen is just tragic and heartbreaking. I haven’t slept for three days, you can probably tell and I am just exhausted.’
His comments came as further details emerged about how the two-year-old was found.
An urgent message posted to Facebook alerted the local community in the state of Yucatán that the girl had bizarrely been found.
Mr Shanks said his niece was ‘dumped’ at a church in the Mexican tourist town late at night and was found wandering the streets.
As for his sister, she sent photos of the beaches they were visiting but ‘next minute nothing from her’.
He has offered a $5,000 reward for his sister’s safe return and has spent the last few days dealing with Mexican and Australian authorities
The last known photos of Ms Shanks and Mr Astudillo show them in Las Coloradas, Yucatán, 93 miles from where their daughter was found in Cancún on Mexico’s tropical southern tip.
One of the pictures shows Ms Shanks standing on the flatbed of a pickup truck and holding Adelynn with the beach in the distance.
Ms Shanks has no family in Mexico with her, but is normally active on social media. However, her family hasn’t heard from her in several days.