Parents of children who go missing never find the closure they need, missing children's organisation, The Pink Ladies, said on Wednesday.
It comes in the wake of a Mitchells Plain family still tormented by the disappearance of Matthew Ohlsson, who would have celebrated his 27th birthday this week. He went missing when he was nine years old.
Matthew went missing on March 24, 1997, while fetching a dirt-bin in front of his home in Delheim Close, Westridge, Mitchells Plain. He was dressed in a vest, shorts and was barefoot.
His mother, Michelle, said she was still hurt. “I am tired of my emotions going up and down.”
A post on social media commemorating Matthew’s birthday read: “We’ve all committed to sharing his childhood photo on our social media networks. Get word out, people. There are too many people in the world to have someone go missing and not a single person know what happened to them.”
Pink Ladies director Dessie Rechner said: “Missing persons cases never close. It is the duty of the police to keep circulating information now and again. Miracles do happen, look what happened to baby Zephany.
“Families have to keep requesting information. Unless the missing person is found or a body is seen, it is never closed. And families need closure.”
NO CLOSURE: Sasha-Lee's mom Sandra November and Matthew's mother Michelle Ohlsson
Last May, the Daily Voice did a story on Cape Town's missing children. Matthew was one of the children featured in the story, as was six-year-old Shasha-Lee November, who disappeared while playing outside her home in Hanover Park on May 3, 2015.
Sasha-Lee's mom, Sandra, suffered a massive stroke two days after her child’s disappearance, and even shaved off her hair in her grief.
While Sandra continues to cling onto hope, Dessie, at the time, said they believe the little girl was taken by someone in her very own community, a predator who had been watching her.
The little girl, who was in Grade 1 at Belmore Primary school, was last seen wearing a white shorts and T-shirt with green slippers and she has a burn mark on one of her cheeks.
Mayor Patricia de Lille put up a R25 000 reward for any information leading to her being found, but police say the trail has run cold.
Bianca van Aswegen, a criminologist and national co-ordinator of Missing Children South Africa, urged people to inform police immediately when someone is missing.
“It is a lie that there is a waiting period for reporting a case. Help from the public is also vital. They have to keep their eyes and ears open,” Van Aswegen said.
“Traumatised parents often don’t want to speak to the media. But the reality is the more exposure the missing person gets through social media, flyers and the media, the greater the chance of finding them.”
Statistics from 2015/16 research indicated that 78% of missing people are found, Van Aswegen said.
On Wednesday, she received two cases of missing children who had been found by police. The reason for their disappearance was unknown.
Rechner and Van Aswegen stressed the importance of families of missing persons and community members working with the police.
The Pink Ladies can be contacted on 072 214 7439, and Missing Children SA on 072 647 7464.