Desperate search for missing young mum west of Brisbane
Updated ,first published
Jana Armstrong’s family and friends will continue their search on Sunday morning after focusing on areas of interest in Toowoomba in a bid to find the mother who disappeared from her home earlier this week.
Jana Armstrong, 30, was last seen at her home in Newtown, Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, on Tuesday afternoon. On Saturday, police also confirmed their search was open and ongoing.
Her four-month-old son was found at the property in Newtown and is now with family members.
Armstrong’s car was found unlocked on Wednesday morning and police were investigating, including whether the disappearance was suspicious.
Acting Detective Inspector Brian Collins said the white Hyundai Kona was “basically parked in the middle of the road”.
On Saturday morning, Armstrong’s sister, Faith Isaacs, reported that the family and community were searching for places of interest, starting on Preston Road.
As she searched woodland near Preston Road while carrying her sister’s baby, she told Nine News: “We’re trying to find where Jana might be, any leads, anything like clothing or fresh tire tracks or anything like that.”
“I hope we find something, but yeah, I don’t know.”
The family brought Armstrong’s dog in the hope that it would be easier to smell the mother.
Isaacs announced on Saturday evening that the search would continue on Sunday, meeting at Hodgson Vale Lions Park at 8am.
“If you are available and would like to participate, we would greatly appreciate your support,” he said.
Police searched the Black Gully Reserve area and another area of interest on Tabletop Drive in Rangeville but did not find any items of interest.
Collins said Friday no one was interested in the matter.
“We treat [as] “It is very worrying that a 30-year-old woman with a four-month-old child disappeared overnight and her car was left where it was,” he said.
“We hope Jana is still alive, but we have serious concerns for her well-being at this point.”
Armstrong’s sister said she would never willingly abandon her son. His brother, Dean Armstrong, said the little boy was struggling without him.
“We all miss him so much,” he told Nine News.
Police were investigating the movements of Armstrong’s car, which had Queensland registration 273ZHQ, on Tuesday.
He was believed to have traveled along Tabletop Drive in Rangeville between 9pm and 10pm on Tuesday, then along Preston Road in Preston around 10pm, along Charker Street in Darling Heights around 10.15pm and along Gordon Avenue in Newtown between 3am and 5am on Wednesday morning.
Collins said police were unsure whether Armstrong was driving the vehicle at this time and that was one of the reasons they searched for CCTV.
Anyone with information, including CCTV footage of the vehicle or dashcam footage, has been asked to contact police.
Armstrong is Caucasian and approximately 165 centimeters tall, of average build, with blue eyes and brown hair.
She was last seen wearing a green-and-white striped Country Road shirt, T-shirt, blue jeans and a pair of thongs.
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Cloe Read is the Brisbane Times’ crime and courts reporter.Connect with: X or email.
