'Joshlin search is ongoing'

WESTERN Cape Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile said they permie go to prison to ask Kelly Smith, diè se ou Boeta Appollis and their bra Steffie van Rhyn where little Joshlin Smith is. 

This comes after the trio were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Western Cape High Court in May for the kidnapping of Kelly’s daughter Joshlin.

The little six-year-old girl went missing from her home in Middelpos, Saldanha Bay, in February last year. 

Still missing, Patekile also revealed that police had recently returned to Saldanha Bay with K9 units after receiving new information, but the search yielded no results.

And he revealed that they will continue to look for the little girl, saying: “We are searching internationally, and we keep going back to prison to ask those convicted about where we can find Joshlin.

“We will continue searching for her. The investigation into her disappearance continues.” 

Joshlin’s paternal grandmother, Lauretta Yon, said she has not given up hope: 

“I must believe that she is still alive because we didn’t get her body. She cannot be dead, so if we don’t have a body, the search must still continue. I’m positive that Joshlin is alive.” 

Yon recalled visiting Smith in Worcester Correctional Centre to ask what had happened to her granddaughter.

“I asked her what she did with my grandchild, and she told me she doesn’t know what happened to her. She denied having anything to do with selling Joshlin.”

She added: “I know the police are still working tirelessly to find her. I hope they will find her soon.”