Tutume missing boy search continues
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Monday January 9, 2023 15:27
The boy who was to turn Six years in March this year went missing at Magapatona ward in the same mentioned village.
According to No.15 District officer commanding Kabo Badirwang, the police have engaged Botswana Defence Force (BDF) , Botswana Police Service (BPS) scuba divers and dog unit assists respectively together with the community at large to intensify their search.
He said that due to the heavy rainfall on Friday, they only managed to start their search on Saturday morning and found the boy's flip flops.
The same flip flops found near the flowing Tutume River were later confirmed as belonging to the missing boy by his mother, he added. Surprisingly, Badirwang said that the flip flops were found about 1.5km away from the five-year-old home where the boy was left alone.
He added that the area where they recovered the flip flops was a bit far away from the missing boy’s home. He said that the search and investigations are still on-going to determine what exactly transpired and find out if the boy is still alive or otherwise.
“We will not call out the search anytime soon .At the moment, we are searching along the river. We have taken all our resources to the area so that we can find the missing boy,” he added.
When speaking about what transpired, he said that the boy went missing on Friday when he was left alone at home. Badirwang said that the boy was left alone on January 6 by her 18-year-old sister who went shopping at the village mall.
“The teenage girl left his brother when she went to buy clothes for him as part of the preparation for his trip.The boy was supposed to have left for Pandamatenga village the next day (Saturday). Prior to his disappearance, there were arrangements that the boy was going to stay with his father in Pandamatenga village,” he added.
"The five-year-old was to relocate and start his standard one at Pandamatenga Primary school tomorrow on Tuesday this week as the first term begins," shared No.15 District officer commanding.
The boy was last seen wearing navy blue rompers with football prints from ankle to the hoodie that covers the head together with a pair of flops that were discovered along the river.
Badirwang urged parents to look after their children and never leave them unattended. He said that it was also critical for parents to remain vigilant during the rainy season to avoid imminent dangers of drowning.