Community desperate to find missing girl (8)
“We decided to take the search to all the notorious spots in the area known for rapes, murders and other river streams for her body".
Tsakane – Residents of Tsakane and neighbouring areas joined the search for Amahle Thabethe (8), who went missing on April 6, over the weekend.
When those searching for her failed to find the little girl, schoolchildren added their feet to the search on Monday, electing to miss school to help look for Amahle.
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By Tuesday morning, hundreds of residents had joined a march through the streets of Tsakane, pleading for Amahle’s return to her parents.
The little girl went missing two weeks ago while playing with her friends in the street in which she lives.
It is alleged by the children who were playing with her that she left with an unknown man who asked for directions.
Tsakane police spokesperson Sgt Lerato Mngomezulu says: “The other children ignored him, but Amahle offered to show him the address he was searching for and was not seen again.
“She was wearing a striped black-and-white T-shirt and blue jeans with a printed heart on a side pocket,” she says.
In the days following her disappearance, the community went searching for the man they thought might have kidnapped her, using an identikit as a reference.
They found a man who matched the picture in the identikit and handed him over to the police.
Mngomezulu says the man was taken in for questioning but was released from police custody without being charged.
“We could not find any information linking him to Amahle’s disappearance and we will continue investigating.
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“We are appealing to residents with information that might lead to the whereabouts of the girl to come forward,” she says.
Search organiser Brian Sithole from One Strong Voice Foundation, a Kwatsaduza organisation which fights for the rights of women and children, says they started the campaign to help the police and family to find Amahle.
“We decided to take the search to all the notorious spots in the area known for rapes and murders.
“We also searched local streams, looking for her body.
“We are concerned about her safety and are urging anyone who might know what happened to her to come forward,” he says.
The police are investigating a missing-child case.
