@property field reads parent class, but not grandparent? Follow

I'm using the @property doc block feature to get my CodeIgniter source to properly autocomplete, and it's working wonderfully, with one exception.  

I have a subclass of a subclass of the master controller, and it doesn't pick up the @property tag when I put it in the grandparent class.  For instance:

Controller is extended by Controller_public which is extended by my_controller_class.

When I put the @property tag in Controller, my_controller_class does not have the autocomplete available.  If I put it in Controller_public, everything works fine.  I'd like this to work since I have other subclasses of Controller which could benefit from the @property fields.  

Am I missing a setting here, or is this by design?