Police debunk social media claims about missing girl Joshlin Smith's remains
Police warn against false social media claims regarding the discovery of missing girl Joshlin Smith's remains, urging the public to verify information before sharing.
Image: SAPS
Police have slammed social media claims that missing girl Joshlin Smith has been found, calling them a cruel hoax.
The misleading posts allege that a device was used to locate the decomposed remains of the six-year-old, who has been missing for two years.
One widely shared post claims that a cadaver dog led a private team to decomposed remains in the Saldanha dunes, and that “Danie’s gadget” confirmed the findings.
Danie Krugel is a retired cop who, in 2007, made claims on national TV that he had located possible remains of girls who disappeared decades ago in Johannesburg under the case of Gert van Rooyen.
Van Rooyen is a notorious paedophile and serial killer linked to the abduction of several young girls in the 1980s. He shot his girlfriend, Joey Haarhoff, and killed himself when they were cornered by police.
The post alleges that items recovered at the scene belonged to little Joshlin and that authorities were urged to cordon off the area and collect what remained.
But police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said this was not the case.
"[We have] noted with concern various false social media posts in relation to the body of Joshlin Smith being found," Van Wyk said on Saturday morning
"It is on this basis, as a law enforcement agency, that we wish to caution social media users against posting unverified information about this."
He said the spread of false reports causes unnecessary distress and appealed to social media users to act responsibly.
"A plea is hereby made to social media users, to use these platforms responsibly and to verify the source as well as the authenticity of the information before sharing it," he said.
Joshlin disappeared from the Middelpos informal settlement in Saldanha Bay in February 2024 and remains missing despite a large-scale search.
Her mother, Kelly Smith, and her co-accused Jacquen “Boeta” Appollis and Steveno “Steffie” van Rhyn were sentenced on May 29 last year to life imprisonment for human trafficking and 10 years for kidnapping.
The sentences are being served concurrently, and the three have also been placed on the national child protection register.
Meanwhile, Van Wyk said a badly decomposed body was discovered on an open field in Jacobsbaai at about 1.30pm on Thursday.
He said officers responded to a complaint and found the body of an unidentified adult man at the scene.
"The extreme weather conditions the past few days, made it currently impossible to identify the body.
"A postmortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death, age and race of the person."
During the launch of the Joshlin Smith Foundation in Saldanha Bay by PA leader Gayton McKenzie on Sunday last week, he said he believes she is still alive.