MXit girl back home

Heartbroken: Aslam and Rushida Omar, parents of fourteen-year-old Nabeela Omar, sit in their daughter's bedroom at their Parktown home after she disappeared in an allegedly MXit-related incident. Photo: Dumisani Sibeko, The Star

Gallery: MXit girl's disappearance

By Kanina Foss

Nabeela Omar, who went missing for 48 hours after allegedly being lured away by people she met on MXit, arrived safely at her family's home on Wednesday night.

She was dropped off by an unknown driver.

Her relieved father Aslam Omar said on Wednesday night: "She looks okay but obviously we have to take her to the doctor."

Heartbroken: Rushida Omar, mother of a fourteen-year-old Nabeela Omar, sit in her daughter's bedroom at their Parktown home after she disappeared in an allegedly MXit-related incident. Photo: Dumisani Sibeko, The Star

Gallery: MXit girl's disappearance

AFP

One person has been arrested.

Two days after his 14-year-old daughter went missing, Aslam received a call from an unknown number.

"I'm coming home, I'm coming home," said a female voice. Then the phone cut out.

But on Wednesday, hours after the call, there was no sign of Nabeela.

Sitting on her daughter's bed, Rushida Omar wept quietly.

"We know she's alive. Deep down, we know she's alive."

As a mother, she said, her gut was telling her that Nabeela was with the people she had met on the cellphone social network MXit two or three weeks ago.

"To all the parents whose children are on MXit, try to get your children off it. It's a sick world out there. You'll only know when you go through something like this," said Rushida.

Nabeela disappeared from Parktown Girls' High on Monday after her father dropped her off at school in the morning.

It is understood that she changed from her uniform into jeans and a mustard-coloured top, before entering the school to tell the secretary that she was not attending school that day, and that her father was waiting for her outside.

After it was discovered on Monday afternoon that Nabeela had disappeared, her friends said she had met some boys on MXit.

Aslam suspects these are the same people who fetched her from school.

He said he had gone to court to get permission to access his daughter's cellphone records.

As the police investigation proceeds, the family waited for a knock on the door or the phone to ring.

The first call came on Monday evening.

One of Nabeela's friends answered an unknown number and heard Nabeela crying.

Then the phone cut out.

Two more calls, and each time the same thing happened.

The next morning, before school, the friend got another call. She said: "Nabeela!"

On the other end of the line she heard: "Seven"

Nabeela's 18-year-old sister Yumna put a message on MXit saying her mother was ill.

On Tuesday morning, she too received a call.

"How's Mommy? I'm coming home," said Nabeela.

She didn't sound like herself.

"How?" asked Yumna.

"I'm walking," Nabeela said.

When they heard the news, Nabeela's parents rushed home.

It's easy to spot the Omar house.

There are cars parked bumper to bumper on both sides of the street.

Since Nabeela disappeared, her family and friends have handed out pictures of her face all over Joburg.

Four of Rushida's siblings arrived from Cape Town as Wednesday night relieved family members and friends gathered at the family home in Mayfair West.

This is Nabeela's second trauma after armed robbers assaulted her during an attack on the family bakery in Greenside.

As a result she sustained serious injuries and had to undergo surgery to remove blood clots that had formed behind her eyes.

The last operation was just two weeks ago, and she was still recovering.

Anybody with information can contact the police on 10111 or 08600 10111.