The families of two missing Cape Flats teens are sick with worry and have appealed to mense to help track down the girls who disappeared without a trace a week ago.
Relatives of Nabeelah Mitchell, 14, and Aqeelah Genade, 15, say they are “good girls” who would never go off on their own.
They now fear the young girls may have been kidnapped.
The girls, who are both in Grade 9 at Heideveld High School, were last seen on Saturday afternoon, sitting in front of Aqeelah’s house in Blouberg Close, Heideveld.
Nabeelah’s mother Naeema Mitchell, says she last saw her daughter shortly after Jum’uah prayers on Friday.
She says her daughter was happy at home and doesn’t believe the teen ran away.
“There was no reason for them to want to leave. Nabeelah still took her baby sister for a walk after Jumu’ah, and I never saw her again as she went to go visit Aqeelah,” the mom says.
Aqeelah’s mother Amiena Genade, 43, confirms Nabeelah slept over on Friday night.
She says her sister last saw the girls sitting in front of the house.
When neighbours started asking where the girls are, she checked at Nabeelah’s house, but no-one had seen them.
“These girls are good friends, they are always together and this (disappearance) is out of the usual for them,” she says.
“If they do leave the house they are in the area, but no one has seen them. We have gone so far as to walk to Manenberg, going into drug dens looking for them,” the heartbroken mom says.
“Our biggest fear is that they are being held hostage, although we don’t exclude the possibility that they ran away from home.”
The girls were last seen wearing T-shirts, tights and takkies. They are both medium build with black shoulder-length hair and brown eyes.
The families’ message to the girls are: “Here are a lot of people who love them; we just want them to come home. Nothing will happen if they wandered off, they won’t be in trouble.
“We are just worried sick and want our girls to come back home safely.”
If you have information about the teens, please contact Manenberg SAPS, Sergeant B Persent at 021 699 9466 or the Pink Ladies at 072 214 7439 or 021 712 0129.