A desperate search is under way for a 16-year-old Gauteng girl who vanished from her home and is suspected to be in KuGompo City after allegedly communicating with an older man on social media.
This has prompted a nationwide appeal to help locate her.
Monique Viljoen, 16, was reported missing after she vanished from her family’s home in Escombe, Brakpan, outside Johannesburg on Sunday night.
Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi on Thursday confirmed that a missing person case was being investigated.
According to Nevhuhulwi, the teenager was last seen by her mother at about 11pm on Sunday night before the family went to bed.
“When she woke the following morning to prepare her daughter for school, the teenager had vanished,” Nevhuhulwi said.
The family has sought assistance from private investigators Wendy Pascoe and Matt Venter to assist the police with locating the teen.
Pascoe said investigators involved in the case were following up several leads after Monique’s disappearance, including information suggesting she may have been communicating with a much older man on social media before she vanished.
“It appears there is a possibility that this person may be on that side [KuGompo], but at this stage there is nothing concrete that can be confirmed,” she said.
“As the story has developed, it appears she may have met somebody who is a lot older than her. It seems they had been communicating through Snapchat,” Pascoe said.
She cautioned that while investigators were pursuing information relating to the individual, no definitive link had yet been established, and the focus remained on locating Monique safely.
“At the moment, everyone is working on updates and following every lead available to find Monique,” she said.
“We are asking the public not to speculate but to report any information that could assist the investigation.”
Meanwhile, Venter said the case was sensitive at this stage.
“At this stage, the police have all the information. They are using all the information at their disposal,” he said.
Her mother, Andrea, said the family only became aware of a possible online connection after Monique was reported missing.
“Some of her friends told us that she had been speaking to a guy on social media. That’s all I know,” she said.
Andrea said the information emerged on Monday when the family opened a missing person case.
She said there was no confirmed evidence placing her daughter in KuGompo City, but appeals were being circulated widely in the city and across the Eastern Cape in the hope of generating leads.
“We asked people in East London to share the messages. We asked everyone — friends, family, everybody — to get on social media and start posting the flyers,” she said.
Andrea confirmed that Monique’s cellphone was no longer in the family’s possession and had been taken by police as part of the investigation.
After the news broke, the matter raised eyebrows among social media users as it was alleged that Monique’s case was not an isolated matter.
One user said: “Something is happening in Brakpan; this is the second case of a missing person from there …”
Another user said, “Logically speaking, if she was seen communicating with an older man and if the friends witnessed it, they ought to have a profile on the man.
“It’s sad what’s happening but there’s many predators in the world luring girls.”
Another said: “She could just be a runaway since a previous post says she was suspected to be in East London with a male suspect.
“Why don’t the investigators contact the friends or anyone she may have been known to confide in?”
Andrea’s sister, Karen, said: “We are sharing all over the country as she can be anywhere.
“We received info that she might be in East London, but we think it was a hoax,” she said.
“I’m not sure what things people are saying but up to now she is still missing.
“We are not at liberty to state what we know at this stage because it is an ongoing investigation.”
She said Monique’s grandparents were not coping.
“Her mother and father are trying to hold things together for the two brothers but are emotionally drained.
“Her father drove around endlessly for two days looking for her without any luck,” she said.
The incident was widely shared on the city’s crime groups.
A flyer on the KuGompo, Beacon Bay and Gonubie crime groups said the possibility that the missing teenager may be in the province has prompted an urgent call for residents, businesses, transport operators, guest houses and shopping centre staff to be vigilant and report any possible sightings.
“She could be anywhere in the community right now. Every shared post and every piece of information could make the difference between finding her safely and losing valuable time,” it said.
Monique is described as having blue eyes, ash-blonde hair, an average build and is about 1.6m tall.
When she was last seen, she was reportedly wearing a black crop-top T-shirt and pink or light-mauve wide-leg pants. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail.
The provincial Hawks could not comment by the time of publication.
Daily Dispatch
Mandilakhe Kwababana
www.dispatchlive.co.za
