Pretoria: Police in Mpumalanga, have requested assistance from community members to locate seven-year-old Lesedi Andile Chiloane who went missing on Sunday.
“The little boy reportedly went missing at Chochocho Trust near Masoyi on Sunday, 28 August 2022,” said Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala.
“According to information, the victim was last seen at home by his family. On that fateful day, the boy, his cousin and the grandfather were busy watering some plants in the garden at around 9am. It is further said that during his disappearance, he was wearing grey jeans and a grey jersey.”
Hi family reported Lesedi’s disappearance to the police on the same day.
“The case was assigned to the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit. Since the victim went missing, police, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders as well as members of the community, have been hard at work searching for the victim but the child has not yet been found,” said Mohlala.
“The police urge anyone with information… that may assist the investigation to contact Detective Sergeant Mthunzi Shadrack Mokgoadi at 079 420 8842 or call the Crime Stop number at 08600 10111.”
Alternatively, members of the public can send information via the My SAPS App.
“All received information will be treated as confidential and callers may opt to remain anonymous,” the police said.
Fifteen children are reported missing in Gauteng every month, but the figure could be higher as many cases go unreported, especially in rural areas.
Previous figures from Missing Children SA (MCSA) show that at least one child is reported missing every five hours, with the number of child kidnapping, abductions and human trafficking rising each day.
National MCSA co-ordinator Bianca van Aswegen said 16 151 children were reported missing over the past 20 years. An estimated 4 000 have never been found.
MCSA does, however, boast a success rate of 77% of children returned safely to their homes. When a child goes missing, the first 24 hours are critical and, as time passes, the statistical likelihood of finding the child alive drops drastically. The good news is that there is no longer a waiting period to report a missing person.
IOL