Father keeps the lights on, hoping for son’s return

Jonothan Bennedick is missing.

by Janine Hill

Owen Bennedick’s son is missing and he does not know what else to do so he is doing what he normally does. Owen is keeping the Wappa Falls Observatory, at Yandina, open six-and-a-half days out of seven and hoping Jonothan will rejoin him soon

“He’s always helped me with the place so it might be good for him to see it’s open in a story like this,” Owen said.

Jonothan, 35, left Yandina on Sat- urday, 2 September, and was last seen at Tin Can Bay on Saturday, 9 September. Police believe him to be with his vehicle, a silver-coloured Hyundai Accent with Queensland Registra- tion 050 JX.

Jonathon is believed to be with his vehicle, a silver-coloured Hyundai.

Owen said Jonothan, who had lived with him for the past 20 years, had been having a rough time of late and he wondered if his son would ever come home.

“He was in a pretty bad frame of mind when he left,” he said.

He said this was the third time Jonothan had left but the longest he had been away.

“He had a bit of a breakdown. Too much of a breakdown. He went to Mt Morgan and came back and took off again.”

He said Jonothan had not touched his bank accounts since he left this time and could be living off other funds but his phone was not on and attempts to pinpoint its location had so far been unsuccessful.

Owen hopes Jonothan will be home soon but is trying to carry on with the observatory in the meantime.

“You wake up in the morning and you’re still breathing and you stumble out of bed and find something to do,” he said. “I have a dream and a passion to try and encourage people and that’s what gets me out of bed.”

▶ Jonothan is described as 175cm tall, of solid build, caucasian, with dark brown hair. Anyone with infor- mation is asked to contact police quoting QP2301532912.