The disappearance of a young girl in South Africa has captivated the entire nation, prompting the involvement of the navy in the search efforts.
Joslin Smith, a 6-year-old, has been missing for the past three weeks since he disappeared on February 19 in the Saldanha Bay area on South Africa’s west coast. The area is located approximately 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Cape Town.
Police, firefighters, and specialized dog units investigated sand dunes and scrub terrain near Joslin’s informal community of shacks and small dwellings.
Police claimed that search teams utilized drones to survey huge sections of land and that officers from a South African navy facility in Saldanha Bay have now joined the effort.
Hundreds of community members have also been part of the search, and some claimed this weekend to have discovered a knife and a girl’s blood-stained clothing, which they said they turned over to police.
The police said they had forwarded materials obtained during the search to a laboratory for forensic testing but did not reveal what was discovered.
Police Minister Bheki Cele met with Joslin’s family on Saturday and urged locals to be calm after the young girl’s disappearance sparked outrage. Kelly Smith, Joslin’s mother, said she and her boyfriend were confined at a police station for their own safety last week when angry neighbors blamed them.
Police did not comment, but Cele urged the community to remain calm “amid the finger-pointing.”
Kelly Smith stated that she requested her boyfriend to watch after Joslin when the small girl felt ill and did not attend school on the day she went missing. Jacquin Appollis, Joslin’s boyfriend, stated that he had lost track of where she was.
According to the Missing Children South Africa charity, which is assisting in the search for Joslin, police records show that one child goes missing every five hours in the country. According to the report, around 25% of missing children are killed, trafficked, or never discovered.
Police have also launched a second search for a 3-year-old toddler who went missing in another community near Cape Town on Sunday.
