Cape Town — Police in the Western Cape have deployed their dog unit to Saldanha Bay after receiving an alert from the community over a pungent smell emanated from the bushes in the search for missing Joshlin Smith.
Joshlin has now been missing for more than two months with the community of Saldanha Bay remaining hopeful that the little girl can be found. Police have not stopped in their investigations despite an unsuccessful search so far, EWN reported.
Western Cape Police Commissioner Tembisile Patekile said that police were following any leads brought forward by members of the community.
“Every lead that we’ve been informed this week, last week, people say this and then we follow that and then found nothing. There’s been a lot of information but we didn’t disregard any of that information, we followed each and everyone up, the net was cast worldwide. As the minister was saying last time, that we even went as far as the UK, where a vessel was searched for three days.” Patekile said.
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Joshlin’s mother, Kelly Smith, is currently among four suspects awaiting trial at Pollsmoor Prison. Kelly’s boyfriend, Jacquin Appollis, Steven Van Rhyn and Lourencia Lombaard are the other three suspects accused in the disappearance of Joshlin.
Questions have started to rise over whether Joshlin was sold over her drug use. According to David Louw, a Saldanha Bay resident, said Kelly had worked for him as a domestic worker and she noticed a remarkable change in her, The Citizen reported.
Louw claimed that the 33-year-old mother of three, who is reportedly pregnant again behind bars, told him that she had received offers to sell her little girl for muti.
The references to Kelly being “bewitched” and like a “zombie” are similar to that of methamphetamine psychosis which is a serious potential side-effect of heavy tik use.
Jose Emke, Joslin’s biological father who lives in Springbok, suspects his daughter’s disappearance was likely linked to “drug debt”, which he claimed was racked up by Kelly and Appollis.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
