Arabella Horwood.
Image: Supplied
AFTER her 13-year-old daughter, Arabella, vanished while on a routine errand to a nearby shop two months ago, a mother from Glenhills is desperately seeking assistance and facing challenges with local authorities.
Irene Horwood, 36, a local hairdresser, said her daughter disappeared on the morning of January 25 under circumstances which were both routine and alarming.
“My daughter went missing at 7am. She was on her way to the store which was one road away from our home, in Glenhills. It is something she does all the time and it is very close to our home. It was not unusual that she walked to the store.”
What began as a normal errand quickly turned into every parent’s nightmare.
“After about 20 minutes of waiting for her, I started panicking and began searching for her. I went to the store to ask if she had arrived and they said they had not seen her. I was beside myself,” she said.
Horwood immediately began searching the area but found no trace of her daughter.
“I started looking everywhere for her but nobody had seen her or had any clue about her whereabouts,” she said.
She then reported the missing teenager to the SAPS in Stanger, but claimed her efforts to get formal assistance had been frustrating.
“I went to Stanger SAPS to open a case but up until now I do not have a case number. They said that for a missing person’s case I did not need a case number, but I have been trying to get help from private security companies and they all said they needed a case number before they could help me,” Horwood said.
The lack of progress has left her feeling abandoned and overwhelmed.
“I am very upset that the police are giving me the run-around. I am mentally not doing well. Nobody is helping me or seems to thing that my daughter could be in danger,” she said.
Horwood also described being misled by false tip-offs, which she said had only deepened her distress.
“People message me and send me on a wild goose chase, telling me she’s here and there. Once I get there, she is nowhere to be found. I am confused and afraid for my child.”
For nearly two months, she has continued her search tirelessly.
“I look for her every day. I wake up early to monitor the roads and drive around hoping I see her but there is nothing,” she said.
Horwood also raised concerns about the police response times.
“On the day she disappeared, I waited three hours at the police station because someone gave us a tip-off of where she may have been. Eventually, when they took me there, it was three hours later. In cases like this every second counts but the police do not seem to care.”
In addition to the emotional toll of her daughter’s disappearance, Horwood has faced harsh reactions online after sharing her story publicly.
“When I put up the story on Facebook hoping someone would help me, people in the comment section started being very horrible to me, saying she ran away with a man and once she had a good time she will return home. That is not true,” she said.
She emphasized that her daughter was still a child and vulnerable.
“My daughter does not even have a cell phone at 13 years old. She attends Glenhill Secondary School and is in Grade 9. She is a minor and the police do not care that she’s missing.”
As a single mother raising multiple children, Horwood says the situation has left her struggling to cope.
“I raised her as a single mother, protected and kept safe her entire life. She is my life. I am basically working on my own and I still have two younger children. I hope someone out there can help me. I need leads. I need to know where my daughter is. SAPS have not yet issued further updates to me on the case,” she said.
South African Police Service did not comment in time of publishing.