Mom’s desperate plea for help to find missing daughter, 6
As the search for a missing sixyear-old child from Saldanha Bay enters its sixth day, the mother of little Joslin Smith has appealed to the public not to speculate and instead help bring her daughter home safely.
Yesterday, as the search for Joslin intensified, with every minute that ticked by crucial in finding her alive, Kelly Smith said she was clinging to the hope that the amount of love she had for her daughter would be enough to will her home.
Joslin went missing from her home in the small community of Diazville in the Western Cape on Monday last week.
It is a story that has captured the nation, with volunteers and the police banding together to search for her.
“I am working very closely with the police to find Jos,” Smith, 33, said.
Saldanha Bay mayor André Truter announced late yesterday afternoon that a reward of R20,000 was offered for information leading to the location of Joslin.
“I have been offered two amounts of R10,000 each for information leading to the location of Joslin Smith,” Truter said.
“The money has been deposited at Saldanha Bay Municipality and will be managed by the municipal manager.”
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm Pojie said Smith had reported Joslin missing at the Saldanha Bay police station on Tuesday.
“Preliminary information reveals that Joslin was left at home on Monday [last week] with the mother’s boyfriend to look after her as she was not feeling well and couldn’t go to school.
“Later in the afternoon, when the mother returned from work, her daughter was not at home.
“She started looking for the child and later got hold of her boyfriend, who was supposed to be looking after her.
“But he was unable to account for her whereabouts.”
Pojie said the grade 1 Diazville Primary School pupil had been wearing a light blue T-shirt and light blue denim shorts at the time of her disappearance.
“Following the report by her mother, a full-scale search was initiated comprising the investigating officer attached to the family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit, visible policing members, disaster management personnel and a [huge group] of community members.”
Search efforts extended to fields, bushes and ponds, employing drones and a helicopter.
Smith said despite swirling rumours implicating her partner, she implored the public to refrain from speculating as her sole focus was on being reunited with her daughter.
“Yes, they have questioned my partner, but that doesn’t hold any weight until she’s been found,” the distraught mother said.
“I ask the public to please stop spreading rumours. All I want is my child back.
“Honestly, no-one really gets what I’m dealing with except those who’ve lost a child or had one go missing.”
Smith and her partner share no children of their own, yet she has endured the heartache of two pregnancies with him, both ending in miscarriage. She has two other children. Smith said though her heart was aching, she remained positive.
“Deep down I have this flicker of hope, this belief that she’ll find her way back to me,” she said.
“I believe, I have hope, and
my heart is filled with enough love to know we will find my daughter.
“I am desperate, desperate to hold her again, to see her smile again.”
She confirmed Joslin had been feeling ill that morning and that her partner had been tasked to look after her.
But when Smith returned from work, Joslin was nowhere to be seen.
“The cops are out there, working hard in their search, but I can’t say much about the case.
“I’m just stuck waiting in the dark like everyone else.”
Reports had surfaced that Joslin was seen on the Monday afternoon by some residents walking with an unidentified man.
Ward 1 councillor Gerald Cleophas said the community had united in a relentless effort to search for Joslin at the weekend.
“We had teams from the navy and police assisting us yesterday [Saturday],” Cleophas said.
“As we speak, investigators are still questioning additional individuals.
“The search continued today [Sunday], and the community will gather again at 9am tomorrow [Monday] to expand the search to other areas, including those we haven’t thoroughly combed.
“We are looking to examine Fynbos now, a forested region and a vast area with sections of farmland.”
In 2009, Monteshca Kekana, 10, mysteriously disappeared in the same area.
Despite her body not being found, Cecil Kockrell was convicted two years later of raping and murdering her.
Monteshca, a resident of Diazville in Tabakbaai, Saldanha, vanished at about 3pm on May 21 2009.
She was last seen walking with Kockrell towards Tabakbaai Beach.
When Kockrell was arrested some hours after the incident, he had Monteshca’s shoes in his possession.
Kockrell had confessed to a close friend about the heinous act, admitting to raping and strangling her.
Pojie said anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Joslin was urged to contact the Vredenburg family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit on 079-879-8588, or Crime Stop on 08600 10111.