WHILE OTHERS FADE INTO SILENCE?
CAPE TOWN:- As the nation remains fixated on the high-profile Joshlin Smith case, more children continue to disappear—yet their names never make the headlines. Their families are left in the dark, searching for answers, while the media and authorities seem to turn a blind eye.
Take Mikylah Herman and Zoey Gelderblom, two missing children whose faces should be everywhere—but aren’t. Mikylah, just 14 years old, was last seen at her residence on 7 March 2025. She was believed to be with Zoey, who is also missing. Their families are desperately seeking help, yet there is no national outcry, no breaking news, no mass search effort like the one unfolding in Saldanha.
A grieving mother in George still waits for any news of her three children, who disappeared without a trace last year. No headlines. No government involvement. No police task force deployed. In Lambertsbaai, two children vanished one after the other, yet their names never became front-page news.
Why?
Why do some missing children receive urgent action while others are ignored?
The media chases the most profitable stories, and the government plays along. Tragedy is a business, and only some cases are deemed valuable enough to generate attention. Meanwhile, countless families are left suffering in silence, with no resources, no public support, and no hope of answers.
The point is not that Joshlin’s case shouldn’t receive attention—it should. But so should every missing child. Why are the same authorities and journalists who claim to care about child safety failing to give equal coverage and resources to every case?
While the police force in Saldanha is being used for what has become a political spectacle, other missing children remain forgotten. Crime continues unchecked. Families beg for justice, but their voices are drowned out.
Where is the same energy for Mikylah?
For Zoey?
For the children of George and Lamberts Bay?
We must demand that every missing child receives the same urgency and attention. Until we do, we remain complicit in a society that chooses which children are worth searching for — and which ones are left behind.
