‘I don’t feel like Joshlin is dead,’ says grandma Lauretta Yon on the one-year anniversary of her disappearance

A YEAR ago today, Joshlin Smith disappeared without a trace from Saldanha Bay in the Western Cape.

The green-eyed girl, who captured the hearts of this nation, is yet to be found.

A year after her disappearance, IOL sat down with her grandmother, Lauretta Yon, who continues to have faith that Joshlin will be found.

Joshlin, the eldest of three children, is described as a quiet girl with a beautiful smile.

She went missing on February 19, 2024.

The girl's father, Josh, residing in the Northern Cape, is struggling emotionally.

Yon said while her son doesn’t speak or show his emotions, if Joshlin’s disappearance is mentioned he would walk away.

“He doesn’t show his feelings. Josh loves his children, especially Joshlin who is the apple of his eye,” she said.

While she and Joshlin did not have the closest bond since birth, Yon said Joshlin crept into her heart as she got older.

“Joshlin and I barely had a relationship when she was younger. As she grew older, she crept deeper into my heart. She is a very introverted child and as she got older she warmed up more. She and her sister would run in here first thing when Kelly collected them from school,” she said.

Lauretta Yon is pleading with anyone who may have Joshlin to return the young girl to her family.

Yon also described her granddaughter.

“Joshlin is a very quiet person. She loves playing. She would lie next to me all day and watch TV. Joshlin would not have walked off with someone she did not know,” she explained.

Joshlin’s siblings are currently living with relatives outside of Saldanha Bay.

“The son is by his grandmother (Kelly’s mother) and the daughter is by my sister and Josh. They are being taken care of very well,” Yon said.

While she harbours no ill feelings towards Joshlin's mother, Kelly, Yon does express her disappointment.

“I don’t have any ill feelings towards Kelly, I am just disappointed. After she spent every single day with her children she could be capable of doing something like this,” Yon said painfully.

“My family is extremely angry at Kelly. They say it's due to her that her children are now separated from each other. They had a very close bond. I want to ask her why she lied to my face when I inquired. She could have told me. There was enough protection for her.”

A year later, Yon said they just wanted answers.

“If Joshlin is alive I say thank you, Lord. But, if she is no longer alive, Kelly needs to say what happened to her. I am not expecting Joshlin’s body but if it must be found I will have to accept it. I will have to say thank you to the Lord that we at least found something. I don’t feel like Joshlin is dead. I would have felt she was gone,” Yon said.

She said early during the searches for Joshlin she spoke to the Lord for guidance.

“In the first week, we started searching, I told the Lord that if we must find Joshlin’s body, please give it to us because at that time we were not sure what we were looking for, a body or not. We searched for the clothes Kelly described, then afterward we were told Joshlin had on different pants. But, we did not find anything,” Yon said.

Yon said while she is coping in her own way emotionally, she is hoping for the trial against Kelly Smith, her boyfriend, Jacquen ‘Boeta’ Appollis, and Steveno van Rhyn to begin so they can know exactly what happened to Joshlin.

She said everything, herself, her family, friends, Kelly’s family, and their community needed the peace.

“I miss Joshlin’s smile. She has a very beautiful smile. When I see her sister, I literally see Joshlin, she’s the spitting image of her,” Yon cried.

She thanked everyone for their support.

“I just want to say thank you to everyone in our community and worldwide, who has sent out a prayer, and who has come out to search, thank you so much for the support. We really do appreciate it,” Yon said.

On Wednesday, an open-air prayer service will be held near Joshlin’s home in Middelpos. Yon also stated she just wants her granddaughter to be found.

“I just want Joshlin to be found so that we know if she is with us or not. If you have Joshlin, bring her home please to where she belongs. Please, you do not have to identify yourself,” the grandmother pleaded.

“Place Joshlin at a spot, there are so many contact numbers, call the number and say where she can be found. You do not have to show your face, just drop her off at a spot and let us know. Please. Please bring her home so we can all rest and find peace.”