This year got off to a bad start when the Mokwena* and Smit* families from Top City, Ikageng were still searching for their 15-year-old daughter who had already been missing for a few days.
The teenager allegedly told her parents she was going to visit a friend on 15 December 2020 and that was the last they heard from her.
According to her grandmother, Pamela Smit*, her granddaughter was very quiet and a sweet girl. They were suspicious when she never returned home that night because it was unlike her to not let her parents know of her whereabouts.
“Later in the evening of the 15th, I received a call from my brother that my niece had been missing and that he was worried,” the teen’s uncle, Jason Mokwena*, said.
The past six months have been a sheer nightmare for the family as they desperately searched for their child.
“My son came here in tears every morning because he was worried about his daughter. I felt helpless as a mother because there was nothing I could say or do to reassure my son,” Pam said emotionally.
“Her mother could barely even clean the house or do anything for herself because she spent a lot of time crying herself to sleep,” she added.
With her hands covering her face, Pam says this was the first time that something so devastating had happened to her family.
“We kept getting different leads to her location. Whenever we got to the place, we had missed her by a few minutes,” the teen’s uncle, Jason, said.
Every day, Jason and his brothers walked through Promosa, searching tirelessly for her.
Three weeks ago, the family reached out to the Scorpion Community Safety Organisation, which helped launch a search party for the missing teen. Before that, the family had been searching on their own.
Just as she was starting to lose hope, Pam had a conversion with her neighbour, Anna Mofokeng* and opened up about her grand- daughter.
“Shortly after the girl went missing, her grandmother told me. For some odd reason, I had never asked to see a photo of her and I eventually let it go,” Anna said.
When Anna checked up on the family on 7 July, she was shocked to find the family was still searching for their child. They had even posted various missing person’s posts on social media.
“When they showed me a photo of their child, I was horrified because I had seen her every time I went to town. She was always with some other guy,” Anna opened up.
Anna reassured the family that she would go out and find her. In less than three hours, she brought their daughter home.
“God works in mysterious ways. On that particular day, I found her sitting alone at the Engen garage close to Dassierand. I usually see her with the same guy,” Anna explained. “Without the guy being there, it was much easier for me to convince her to return home with me.”
It was a bittersweet moment when the family reunited with their child.
She was terrified that she would be in trouble with her family for disappearing for so long but, simultaneously, happy to see them, especially her mother and grandmother.
“When she saw us, she was extremely emotional. She explained that there was nothing she could do to escape because she was afraid her kidnapper would kill her,” the uncle added.
“She revealed that they had been around Promosa the entire time and that she sometimes saw us searching for her. She didn’t say anything because her kid- napper had a strong hold on her,” the uncle added.
Although the family has their daughter back, they are still uneasy.
“On the day of her return, she spent the night with me. I never got a wink of sleep because I felt the need to guard her with my life,” her grandmother Pam said.
Unfortunately, the teenager is not the same person she was six months ago. While she was pregnant and hooked on drugs, the family is extremely grateful she is home.
“I’m scared she will disappear again; it’s very difficult to trust her, especially because she is pregnant,” Pam said. “I still get extremely emotional when I think of how our lives have been since she went missing.”
The family extends its heartfelt gratitude to the community and Scorpion Community Safety for their involvement. They also express a big thank you to their neighbour, Anna Mofokeng, who kept her word and brought her home within hours.
The alleged kidnapper is still on the run.
* Not their real names.
Missing teen found after six months – Potchefstroom Herald
