Family holds on to hope as search for missing Joshlin Smith continues
Joshlin Smith was last seen on 19 February 2024 at her home in Middelpos, Diazville. She was in the care of her mother’s boyfriend, Jacquen “Boeta” Appollis.
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Lauretta Yon, the paternal grandmother of missing child Joshlin Smith, remains resolute in her belief that her granddaughter is still alive.
"I must believe that she is still alive because we didn’t get her body," Yon said. "She cannot be dead, so if we don’t have a body, the search must still continue. I’m positive that Joshlin is alive."
Despite the ongoing investigation into her disappearance, Yon’s unwavering hope highlights the emotional toll on the family as they await answers.
Yon recalled visiting Joshlin's mother, Kelly Smith in Worcester Correctional Centre, to ask what had happened to her granddaughter.
“I asked her what she did with my grandchild, and she told me she doesn’t know what happened to her. She denied having anything to do with selling Joshlin.”
She said her granddaughter’s younger sister, Rochelle, who now lives with her father in the Northern Cape, often asks about Joshlin.
“She talks about Joshlin all the time. She knows Joshlin is her sister, and she knows that she is gone,” Yon said.
Western Cape Police Commissioner, Thembisile Patekile, confirmed that the investigation remains open and active.
“We are searching internationally, and we keep going back to prison to ask those convicted about where we can find Joshlin,” he said.
Patekile said police had recently returned to Saldanha Bay with K9 units after receiving new information, but the search yielded no results.
“We will continue searching for her. The investigation into her disappearance continues,” he said.
For Yon and the rest of the family, that persistence brings some comfort. “I know the police are still working tirelessly to find her. I hope they will find her soon,” she said.
Joshlin vanished on February 19, 2024, from her home in Middelpos, Diazville, while in the care of her mother’s boyfriend, Jacquen “Boeta” Appollis.
In May, Judge Nathan Erasmus delivered his judgment, finding Smith, Appollis, and Steveno van Rhyn guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
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