Search for missing girl in South Africa ramps up as news of bloodied items found heightens emotions

By GERALD IMRAY
Associated Press

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The South African navy has been brought in to help with a search for a 6-year-old girl who has been missing for two weeks in a case that has captured national attention. Joslin Smith went missing on Feb. 19 in the Saldanha Bay area on South Africa’s west coast, sparking a search by police, firefighters and specialized K-9 dog units and the navy’s participation on Monday. They have scoured sand dunes and scrubland near the informal settlement of shacks and small houses where Joslin lived. Community members have also been involved. Some of them claimed to have found a knife and a girl’s clothing stained with blood, which they handed over to police.