I DON’T FEEL LIKE SHE’S DEAD
A YEAR ago yesterday, 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, we 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.
She explains: “He doesn’t show his feelings. Josh loves his children, especially Joshlin who is the apple of his eye.”
While she and Joshlin did not have the closest bond since birth, Yon said Joshlin crept into her heart as she got older.
She says: “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.”
Lauretta Yon is pleading with anyone who may have Joshlin to return the young girl to her family.
Yon also described her granddaughter, adding: “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.”
Joshlin’s siblings are currently living with relatives outside of Saldanha Bay and Yon says: “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.”
While she harbours no ill feelings towards Joshlin’s mother, Kelly, Yon does express her disappointment, saying: “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.
“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.
She says: “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.”