Cape Town - The father of a missing young woman says he is not ruling out the possibility that his daughter may have left the country to join Isis.
Aneekah Ismail, 23, from Athlone, disappeared with her 16-year-old friend six days ago.
On Tuesday, it was confirmed that Aneekah and Kelly Moses, 16, of Mitchell’s Plain, had been “positively spotted” in Worcester shortly after they were reported missing on Thursday.
The women were identified in flyers that have been distributed across the Western Cape.
Aneekah’s dad Shafiek Ismail, told the Daily Voice that there’s been “a lot of speculation” that the girls ran away to join the Islamic State (Isis) in the Middle East. He said they were considering “all possibilities”.
“Isis is also speculation; we cannot throw anything out of the window, as anything is possible,” said Ismail.
The extremist and militant Islamic State, operating in Iraq and Syria, is known to recruit young women to become the wives of their fighters.
The pair were last seen in Eastridge driving in Aneekah’s purple-coloured Ford Fiesta with the registration CA691871.
Aneekah, who had just graduated from university, had taken Kelly to her Oval North High school in Beacon Valley to collect her report.
Kelly’s family suspect she has run away because personal belongings like clothing and her Bible are missing.
Aneekah’s worried father adds: “We just want them back and we are constantly sending them messages (to their cellphones).
“Kelly’s grandmother also became ill. I have not heard anything that they were seen in Worcester.”
Sources close to the investigation say police are probing possible links to Isis.
However, police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk would not confirm this.
“Due to investigation policy, we have no comment on any allegations at the present moment. The case remains a case of missing persons until further notice,” he said.
Kelly’s mother Ghaleema Eldeib, 36, refused to divulge any information.
“I don’t want to comment where they are or who they may be with, we just want them home safe,” she said.
Dessie Rechner, the Director of The Pink Ladies, confirmed that the young women were seen in Worcester at the weekend.
But the search has taken a “worrying” turn after someone tried to sabotage it by creating fake flyers saying the girls had been found.
“They were in Worcester (on Thursday) night and it was reported as someone saw our flyer,” she explained.
“Someone defaced our flyer saying they were back home which is untrue. That is not how we close our cases, and it has caused a lot of trouble in our search.”
Regarding the possible Isis connection, Rechner said: “The overseas (link) is speculation and at the moment it is still an ongoing investigation.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Sergeant Naik or Sergeant Ngomane on 021 370 1600 or 079 894 1548 at Mitchell’s Plain SAPS.
Daily Voice