Did mother sell missing girl?
The mother of a six-year-old girl who has been missing in South Africa for nearly three weeks was arrested and charged Thursday with kidnapping and selling or traf- ficking her daughter, a shocking twist in a case that has seized the country’s attention and sparked deep anger in the small, poor coastal community where the family lives.
The girl, Joslin Smith, has still not been found and police renewed calls for “every citizen, every person” to help find her amid fears she may have been taken to a different city or even out of the country.
In the days after Joslin’s disappearance last month, local media reported that neighbours had accused her mother of selling her for just over $1,000 (U.S.).
The discovery of a child’s discarded clothing near Joslin’s home last weekend heightened emotions.
Her mother, Kelly Smith — whose full name given by prosecutors is Racquel Chantel Smith — has now been charged with kidnapping and human trafficking of- fences, along with three others, two men and a woman. One of the men is Smith’s boyfriend. She claimed she left Joslin with him on Feb. 19 while she went to work. Joslin was reported missing that day.
Joslin hasn’t been found despite a major search oper- ation involving police, firefighters, city authorities and specialized sniffer dog units around the family home near Saldanha Bay, about 120 kilometres north of Cape Town on South Africa’s west coast. The national min- ister of police visited the area and met with Kelly Smith.
Police said a child’s clothing had been recovered last weekend near the settlement of small houses and shacks where Joslin lived. Community members who are also involved in the search said the clothing was spattered with blood and a knife was also found.
Prosecutors said in court documents released Thurs- day that Kelly Smith and the others conspired to abduct Joslin and intentionally sold, delivered or ex- changed her. The suspects face a sentence of life in prison.
Western Cape province police commissioner Them- bisile Patekile told reporters that more arrests could be made, but authorities also had to refocus on the search for Joslin.
“At this stage, we do not have a child,” he said. “Our ultimate goal is to find the child. We still want to find that child alive.”
Authorities have given different spellings for the girl’s name. Police identified her as Joslin, while prosecutors named her as Joshlin in their documents. It wasn’t immediately possible to verify the spelling.