[imagesource:x/@Nobesutu_Hejana]

It’s been four months since six-year-old Joshlin Smith vanished from the poverty-stricken Middelpos informal settlement on 19 February.

And even though the search has extended as far as the United Kingdom with Interpol’s assistance, with investigators following up on all possible leads, police say they have hit a brick wall in their search.

Western Cape police commissioner Thembisile Patekile told EWN “We followed every lead, but we have come to a dead end. Every lead that has been given to us… We extended our net countrywide, worldwide, not even countrywide, worldwide.”

Police say they have nowhere else to look even after a report by Netwerk24 confirmed that an unidentified Saldanha Bay businessman might be called to take the stand as a key witness.

This past Monday, the little girl’s mother, Raquel “Kelly” Smith appeared – evidently pregnant (with her fourth child) for any of the doubters – with her three co-accused at the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court.

Lauretta Yon, Joshlin’s paternal grandmother, says she visited Kelly in prison last week, and Kelly still maintains that she doesn’t know where her daughter is. pic.twitter.com/GwkxjQLN9d

— Nobesuthu Hejana (@Nobesutu_Hejana) May 13, 2024

To remind you, Kelly, along with her boyfriend Jacquen “Boeta” Appollis and their friends Steveno van Rhyn and Lourentia “Renze” Lombaard were arrested and charged with human trafficking and kidnapping in connection with Joshlin’s disappearance. All four accused abandoned their bail bids, choosing instead to remain behind bars.

It is alleged that Smith instructed Appollis and Van Rhyn to sell Joshlin to another Middelpos man for R20,000 for muti.

Joshlin’s mom told reporters during her recent court appearance that she had a “nice Mother’s Day” and that she “loves Joshlin”, flicking her blow-dried hair with a calm smile.

The case has been postponed to 15 July for further investigation.

Meanwhile, the police have received the forensic results of the DNA analysis of bloodstained clothes, a knife and a sheet discovered in an open field about a kilometre from Joshlin’s home on 2 March, confirmed senior state advocate Aradhana Heeramun. Investigators are also analysing the info found on the cellphone data downloaded from the four accused.

Netwerk24 reports that the testimony of the businessman could prove to be crucial in the trial and lead to some answers in Joshlin’s disappearance case.

The man, an acquaintance of Smith and her co-accused, according to a reliable source, was placed under police protection shortly after Smith, Appollis and Van Rhyn were arrested in March, the Citizen noted.

He was apparently taken in for questioning shortly after his and Lombaard’s names were mentioned in one of the accused’s statements.

Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary candidate and crime activist Ian Cameron reckons it is “time for Saps Cold Case Unit to take over on the Joshlin Smith investigation”.

It is time for the SAPS Cold Case Unit to take over on the Joslin Smith investigation. In my opinion they are our only hope if Joslin is still alive. If not, they are the only ones, I believe, capable of getting to the truth. The political fumbles and interference has caused… pic.twitter.com/L9vYJsrzRl

— Ian Cameron (@IanCameron23) May 13, 2024

Teddy Bear Clinic director Dr Shaheda Omar told Newzroom Afrika on Monday the chances of finding Joshlin are very slim.

“I hate to break it to everyone, but unfortunately finding Joshlin is very unlikely.”

“The reality of trafficking is that within the first 24 hours, a lot of people are involved as the trafficked person changes hands.

“Even if she is alive, it’s very unlikely,” Omar said.

[source:citizen]