Eighty per cent of Missing Children SA cases successful

MBOMBELA –  It coincided with Missing Children SA (MSCA) releasing its latest statistics for the nine provinces, showing an increase in its overall success rate of finding missing people.

For children’s cases alone, its success rate is 80 per cent. The unfortunate reality is that nine per cent of those found are deceased. Despite the success stories, the organisation’s caseload increases year on year.

The day also arrived during an especially trying time in South Africa, which has seen a spate of murders of women and young girls cause a massive public outcry over the past few weeks countrywide. It seems that human trafficking is on the increase as well.

Lowvelder reported in December about the difficulty in acquiring updated statistics on missing people. Four years ago the Missing Persons Bureau recorded 1 697 cases of missing children reported to SAPS, which equates to a child going missing every five hours in the country.

In the MCSA statistics, 12 people from Mpumalanga, five of whom were children, were reported to the organisation from May 1, 2016 to April 30, 2017. Eight of the 12 people were found, an improvement on last year’s numbers of three found in nine cases.

Also read: A child goes missing every six hours in SA

Other provinces recorded a much higher number reported, some totals increasing from the last recorded period and others decreasing. In Gauteng, 201 cases were reported to the organisation and 127 in the Western Cape.

MCSA is a registered non-profit organisation which assists the authorities when an individual goes missing in the country. According to Bianca van Aswegen, national case officer, MCSA’s successes have definitely increased and the statistics show that.

We have had wonderful success stories, and that is thanks to our followers and the communities which support our organisation,” she said.

Van Aswegen added, however, there are many cold cases on MCSA’s records and said it is only through media and public awareness that the organisation will be able to push them back into the public arena.

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The MCSA release also warned that it is sure that more cases reported to the police or the organisation itself are because of human trafficking, but at this stage it cannot be proven. According to the International Labour Organisation, it is estimated that more than a million children are trafficked each year.

This is not only a problem in SA but a global (issue). Human trafficking is very difficult to determine when a case is opened, as it is not always (immediately) known what the circumstances are regarding the disappearance of that child or adult,” Van Aswegen explained.

• National Child Protection Week runs from May 27 to June 5.

Some general safety tips from Missing Children SA and SAPS
• There is no waiting period for reporting a person missing to the nearest police station.
• Should you report a person to the police station and the police officer tells you to come back after 24 hours, demand to speak to the station commander. Or, alternatively, contact Missing Children SA or a similar organisation to intervene and they will assist wherever possible.

Organisations you can contact
• People Search and Rescue Unit (PSARU): 0860-287-223, info@psaru.co.za or
www.psaru.co.za
• Missing Children SA (MCSA):
072-647-7464, info@missingchildren.org.za or www.missingchildren.org.za
• Child Welfare South Africa: Mbombela – 013-753-3330, White River – 013-750-1001
• Human Trafficking Resource Line:
0800-222-777.