IT'S been a week since a nine-year-old boy from Westridge in Durban went missing and his family said life has been hard.
Sibusiso Mpangase was last seen on Wednesday, 20 March by his twin brother and 13-year-old cousin. It's alleged he was abducted by a man who was driving a grey Toyota Etios.
Sibusiso, his twin brother and cousin were together playing in the park. They decided to go back home to eat. According to Sibusiso's aunt, Thobile, the cousin told them they met an unknown man on their way out of the park who was driving a grey Etios.
She said the man parked his car near the park, called Sibusiso and asked him to buy him cigarette.
"So, the cousin and Sibusiso's twin left while the man was asking Sibusiso to buy him cigarette. They arrived home and didn't say anything," she said.
Thobile said they didn’t suspect anything because they thought Sibusiso was with his other friends.
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"We started to worry around 3pm when he didn't return. We asked the twin and the cousin where Sibusiso was and that was when they mentioned they last saw him at the park talking to a stranger driving a grey Etios. They said the man asked Sibusiso to buy him cigarettes. We then went out to search for him in and around the park as well as the entire area, but we didn't find him," she said.
Thobile said there is still no sign of Sibusiso and no one in the area knows his whereabouts or even saw a grey Etios that day.
"We're worried sick and life hasn't been the same since he went missing. We hope the man who took him brings him back alive."
She said this is the first time they heard about a car that takes kids in their area.
"We always hear about people driving cars that steal kids. This is the first time we become aware of it in our area," she said.
KZN police spokesman, Colonel Robert Netshiunda said Newlands East police have opened a missing person's docket for investigation.
"Sibusiso Mpangase went missing on Wednesday, 20 March," he said.
