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Haunting truths behind one of most disturbing missing child cases
The Citizen
|February 28, 2025
One year after the tragic disappearance of six-year-old Joshlin Smith from her Diazville home in Saldanha Bay on the west coast, a gripping new documentary is set to expose the haunting truths behind one of South Africa's most disturbing missing child cases.
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A Year in the Shadows: The Joshlin Smith Story, a special documentary led by executive producer and host Shahan Ramkissoon, pieces together the heart-wrenching events that began on 19 February 2024, in Saldanha Bay, when little Joshlin vanished without a trace.
What started as a missing child alert quickly spiralled into a national crisis — as disturbing revelations shattered a community's faith and left an entire nation questioning the very fabric of trust within families.
The unthinkable twist came in March 2024, when Joshlin's own mother, Kelly Smith, along with three accomplices, was taken into custody on kidnapping and human trafficking charges.
This story is from the February 28, 2025 edition of The Citizen.
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