The shattered family of slain Queensland teenager Jayde Kendall have paid tribute to their "beautiful angel", describing her as their "shining light".
The 16-year-old's body was found in a rural area not for from Gatton, where she lived, on Thursday.
"Jayde was the purest beacon of shining light that guided our family. The circle that bound our love," her heartbroken family told The Sunday Mail.
"She was the magnet that drew us all together and kept us connected."
Jayde had been a rock for her father and brother since her mother died from cancer eight years ago.
She loved art and planned to study psychology at university.
Two weeks ago she was picked up by a red car outside the Lockyer District High School and vanished.
Her father raised the alarm after he went to pick her up from her part-time job at McDonald's that night.
Her body was found dumped in a paddock at Upper Tenthill, about 17km from her hometown of Gatton, on Thursday.
A day later her 18-year-old school friend, Brenden Jacon Bennetts, faced court charged with her murder and interfering with a corpse.
Jayde's family have thanked the community, police, SES and everyone else involved in locating their beloved girl.
"Words cannot express the gratitude for making Jayde your highest priority and treating her as one of your own," they told the Sunday-Mail.
"Fly high and free our beautiful angel."
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