The two adult sons of a missing woman who disappeared as a baby have made an emotional plea for information about her whereabouts as police announce a major new cash reward.
Jyles and Rainey Lebler were just three and one years old respectively when their mother Tammy Lisa Dyson, 23, went missing in the Currumbin area of Queensland’s Gold Coast in 1995.
The brothers’ mother, who legally changed her name to Tamela Lisa Menzies in the months before her disappearance, was picked up from a drug rehabilitation center by a woman claiming to be her sister and has not been seen since.
The announcement of the $500,000 reward, including immunity from prosecution for any accomplice who sheds light on Ms Dyson’s disappearance, is welcome news for her children.
Jyles Lebler, 31, tried to hold back tears during a news conference on Wednesday and explained how hard life had been without her.
Santa’s last family photo: Tammy Dyson (pictured with her young sons Jyles and Rainey Lebler) went missing in July 1995, months after this photo was taken
Rainey (left) and Jyles Lebler (right) were one and three years old respectively when their mother disappeared. The boys were emotional Wednesday as they appealed for information as part of a renewed effort to discover what happened to their mother
“Growing up without a mother and not knowing what happened to her has been very difficult,” he said.
‘She won’t be at our weddings and she will never meet her grandchildren. Clearly someone knows something.’
From Victoria, Ms Dyson moved to Brisbane in 1988, when she was 17, and began working in the adult entertainment industry, under the alias ‘Pebbles’.
Police say when she started working in Fortitude Valley’s seedy strip clubs, she mixed with criminals and started using drugs.
In early 1995, Mrs Dyson arranged for her two young sons to stay with their grandmother in Victoria. Her mother, Loretta, told police it was a temporary arrangement and that her daughter would return to pick up her boys.
However, months later, her sister Olivia received a call from the mother of two in distress.
Olivia drove to Inala, south-west Brisbane, to pick up her sister. She described Mrs Dyson as having been assaulted.
Later, Olivia and her partner took Ms Dyson to the drug rehabilitation center in Currumbin on the Gold Coast.
On July 20, 1995, a woman claiming to be her sister Olivia picked up Mrs. Dyson and she has not been seen since.
Olivia confirmed to police in 1995 that she had not picked up her sister from the clinic.
Tammy Lisa Dyson was just 23 when she disappeared after being picked up by someone posing as her sister from a drug rehabilitation center in Currumbin on the Gold Coast.
Her sons believe that this incident ‘already screams alarm’.
“Whoever picked her up, I’m not saying they did anything, but they must know something bad happened,” Jyles said.
The day after she was picked up from the clinic by the unidentified woman, Ms Dyson filled out a statutory declaration which was witnessed and signed by a justice of the peace in Tweed Heads, the coastal border town between NSW and Queensland.
The legal document gave custody of Mrs. Dyson’s children and all her assets to her mother, Loretta.
Mrs Dyson also called her sister one last time and mentioned underworld figures and ‘didn’t sound like herself’.
Police say that although there have been reported sightings since her disappearance, none have turned out to be of Ms Dyson.
The mother changed her name to Tamela Lisa Menzies before disappearing, using the name ‘Pebbles’ as her stripper alias, after moving to Queensland from Victoria at the age of 17.
In 2012, the Queensland coroner was unable to determine the date, time and cause of Ms Dyson’s death, but said they believed the mother-of-two was dead and indicated she may have been the victim of violence.
Detective Senior Sergeant Tara Kentwell said Tammy may have been involved in foul play.
‘Tammy associated with criminals known to the police and disappeared without a trace after handing over custody of her children and assets to her mother; We believe the circumstances of her disappearance are suspicious,” she said.
Although her sons want to know what happened to their mother, Rainey Lebler, who was just one when his mother was last seen alive, believes it is more pressing for their grandmother.
“We hope we find out what happened to Mom so Grandma can get some closure before it’s too late,” Rainey Lebler said.
‘It hurts every bloody day.
‘She wouldn’t just disappear and leave us behind.
“Even if you don’t think your information matters, this could be the piece of the puzzle that helps us figure out what really happened. Please come forward and help our family.”