Police mum as searches for Joshlin keep going

RESIDENTS have kept the search going in Saldanha Bay for missing 6-year-old Joshlin Smith, while there remains no sign of the girl.

As police remained tight-lipped about the investigation, Saldanha Bay ward councillor Vernon Vraagom said yesterday that some believed Joshlin was not far from the Middlepos informal settlement she disappeared from.

“Every day, people come from Cape Town and the surrounding areas and we search for Joshlin.

“Every day, I wake up and put on my safety boots to go searching,” he said.

Vraagom, along with residents, was hosting a silent protest throughout the week in front of the Saldanha Bay police station.

“The police aren’t keeping us updated. We feel they should inform us of what happened to Joshlin and what is the way forward. There are two in protective custody and the community also feels that they should be questioned,” he said.

Joshlin disappeared without a trace on February 19 from her home in Middelpos, Diazville.

Then a Grade 1 learner at Diazville Primary School, she was last seen wearing a light blue T-shirt and light blue denim shorts.

She also has a birthmark located on her left arm.

Joshlin’s mother, Kelly Smith, her boyfriend Jacquin Appollis, his friend Steveno van Rhyn and Phumza Sigaqa have been charged with trafficking in persons and kidnapping.

They appeared in the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court last week and were expected back in court tomorrrow for bail information.

Police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie said their search for Joshlin continued indefinitely.

“Be advised that the case is regarded as sub judice as four accused already appeared in the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court last week in connection with the disappearance of Joshlin Smith, who is still missing,” he said.

Faith and Hope Missing Persons Unit founder Veranique Williams said they had searched most of Saldanha Bay.

“We are still active with this search and we are following-up on leads. The residents are very concerned, traumatised and frustrated. They want answers,” Williams said.