2018-01-08Staff Report 2 Maria Amakali Windhoek-Teenage girls top the list of people often reported missing from homes, and the Namibian police say their disappearance from home is mainly due to peer pressure, intimate relationships, sex, alcohol or drug abuse. The police say they have noticed that cases of missing persons are becoming more frequent. About three to four people are reported missing every month, and the majority of people reported missing from home are teenage girls, the police say. “Mostly teenage girls who for reasons known to them just walk away from home and visit friends – others are mentally challenged persons and toddlers,” explained Namibian Police Force (Nampol) Chief Inspector Kaunapawa Shikwambi. In a worst-case scenario, when a person is presumed missing it might be that the person was killed and the body disposed of, or the person was kidnapped and held hostage, committed suicide and the body was not found, trafficked and smuggled out of the country, bumped and the unidentified body is lying at the police mortuary, or, literally, just walked away, and stays with a friend, boy/girlfriend and ends ties with the family, according to the police. “We are encouraging particularly parents to create platforms where they can freely discuss such matters,” said Shikwambi. Shikwambi noted that an adult person must be reported missing within 48 hours, whereas a child must be reported immediately, within 24 hours. As circumstances surrounding the disappearances vary from case to case, a missing person’s register should be completed. “The register contains a detailed description of the missing person, circumstances surrounding the disappearance, a recent picture and any other necessary information to help identify the missing person,” added Shikwambi. “We always encourage people to first and foremost conduct their own searches, looking at the person’s habitual places, calling family and friends, or visit schools and any other places one can think of before contacting the police,” noted Shikwambi. With a 90 percent success rate of tracing missing persons, Nampol utilizes all platforms and mechanisms in place to ensure that every person reported missing is traced and taken back to his/her family. 2018-01-08Staff Report 2
