The brother of missing Australian woman Tahnee Shanks has taken a loan against his own home to fund a $70,000 reward for information leading to the safe return of his sister.
Ms Shanks was reported missing in Mexico after her two-year-old daughter, Adelynn, was found alone outside a church in Cancun.
Adelynn's father was also reported missing around the same time.
That was almost three weeks ago, and Adelynn has since arrived in North Queensland.
Own funds offered
Brother Dan Shanks said the reward had been posted to social media in Mexico on Thursday and had already been shared thousands of times.
"Our lawyer in Merida has gone and asked a whole heap of different departments in the police station there what to do ... pretty much no one wanted to help me."
Mr Shanks said he was told he could submit a letter asking for the reward to be put with the Alba alert issued by the Mexican government.
He said that would mean they would be responsible for fielding phone calls and messages.
"They didn't sound very interested in it and I was told it could take a week or two for them to reply," he said.
Instead, Mr Shanks has taken on the burden himself and will be fielding any information or possible leads that come from the advertised reward.
"Someone can message me through WhatsApp and then I can translate whatever's being messaged to me."
Mr Shanks said donations made through a GoFundMe page had not been touched.
No updates from Mexican authorities
Mr Shanks said the family was worried not enough was being done to find his sister.
"I've had absolutely nothing from anyone to be honest," he said.
"I understand it's an ongoing investigation but I'm getting worried now that not much is happening.
When two-year-old Adelynn arrived in Queensland safely, the family issued a statement that said they were happy Mexican police were throwing every resource into the case.
But Mr Shanks said he did not believe this anymore.
"Mum and Ben went into the police station, they got taken into this big fancy board room with TV screens everywhere," he said.
"They had a dozen people in there ... we didn't think that many resources were being thrown at it.
Thankful daughter is safe
The saving grace may be Ms Shanks' two-year-old daughter, Adelynn, who has settled into life in North Queensland with ease.
"It's like she was always here," Mr Shanks said.
"She's an amazing little kid, happy all the time, nothing seems to faze her."
