Johannesburg – A 16-year-old Joburg girl, feared to have been abducted by human traffickers, has been found lunching with friends in Orlando East, Soweto.
The teen’s family launched a frantic search for her after she was last seen by her paternal grandmother in Soweto on September 12.
The father told The Star on Monday he suspected his daughter had been snatched by human traffickers and taken to Cape Town.
“I can finally sleep. I was feeling numb. I wasn’t sleeping while she was gone,” her relieved mother told The Star on Thursday.
The mother said she got a call from her cousin on Tuesday morning who told her she had received a message from the missing girl’s friends about them meeting up in Orlando East.
“I told her to be careful where she was going and alert the police because she was also a minor. I think that is how they found her,” she said.
Hawks Gauteng spokesperson Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu confirmed their Serious Organised Crime Trafficking in Persons task team had found the teen having lunch with her friends in Orlando East on Tuesday.
“The investigation team followed up on information which led them to Cape Town where she was suspected to have been. She was found safe at a restaurant having lunch with friends,” she said.
Mulamu added that the Hawks’ investigation would be looking into the circumstances surrounding the girl’s disappearance, and she was given medical attention and taken to a place of safety for observation.
The parents said on Thursday morning they still hadn’t been reunited with her as she was under observation at a safe house.
Her father added that on Monday evening, the police traced her phone and her location was found at the Cape Town International Airport at about midnight.
“It looks like maybe they just sent her back but we still want justice from those guys who took her because we have their pictures,” the father said.
On Tuesday morning, The Star received an email from someone claiming to be the girl who said she left home willingly.
“I’m (* name removed to protect the girl’’s identity) and I saw you published a story about me in a newspaper (stating) I’m missing and that’s not true. I went out of home willingly and I have so many reasons for that if only you can give me a chance to tell my side of the story,” the email said.
Her mother said she couldn’t confirm if her daughter had left the house willingly as the family still awaited information from police. Motloung said he believed the email was sent by the teen’s abductors.
@Chulu_M