A 14-year-old girl of Waiakabra on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway has been missing since Sunday, July 7, 2019, and according to her relatives, the police are dragging their feet on the report.
The teen, Jessica Fidel, was reportedly last seen with a male friend from her neighbourhood, who claimed that he followed her to a neighbour’s house on the night she went missing.
A missing persons’ report was lodged at the Timehri Police Station and Kuru Kururu Police Outpost.
After several calls to the police station pleading with ranks to visit the home where the young man claimed the teen went, the ranks turned up to question the occupant of the home, however, she denied that the teenager was ever there.
A relative of Fidel, who reached out to INews anonymously, fearing victimisation, stated that the young man was questioned and sent away, however, the neighbour had not been questioned.
“When the police visited the woman, she denied that the girl was there and the Police just left it as is. They said they couldn’t search the premises because they hadn’t a warrant. We would have felt better if they had searched the premises because chances are that she could have been right in there,” she said.
Further, the relative alleged that no progress has been made thus far by the police. They had reportedly sent out the All Police Stations Bulletin (APB) to Brickdam Police Station that is tasked with dispatching information across the country.
Relatives believe that the process is slow and uncertain as oftentimes, the photograph of the missing person may become misplaced, therefore, none would be attached to the bulletin.
The relative stated that they had received certain information as to the girl’s whereabouts and provided the information to the police in an effort to get them to act, however, they are still to make any tangible progress. “All the information we are giving to the police. But they seem laid back in doing anything. I don’t know how the force deals with missing persons’ cases. It’s this type of response by those in authority that fail us every day,” she added.
The relative also said that they had received messages on Facebook from a young lady (name withheld) claiming to have known the teen’s whereabouts, however, upon requesting more information from the person, she became abusive.
The relative added that this information and the young lady’s profile information had been provided to the police but the family is still to receive any updates.
The family of Fidel is calling on the relevant authorities to inform the public and Police of the guidelines to follow in dealing with missing children as this could save time and save someone’s life.
The family is calling on the public to report any information that would lead them to locating the teen. The public is asked to contact the family on telephone numbers 644-2838 or the nearest police station.
