SEARCH CONTINUES

Mom Accused of Selling Missing 6-Year-Old in Shock Twist

Prosecutors alleged that Kelly Smith conspired to abduct her daughter with the help of three others.

A woman in South Africa was charged Thursday with kidnapping and trafficking her 6-year-old daughter who went missing in February, according to the Associated Press. Local media reported that neighbors of Kelly Smith, whose full name is Raquel Chantel Smith, accused Smith of selling her daughter Joslin shortly after the young girl went missing. Smith has been taken into custody along with three others, including her boyfriend, and will attend a court hearing next week. Prosecutors alleged that Smith conspired to abduct and sell her daughter with the help of the others. Last week, authorities said they discovered some clothing belonging to the missing child, near the settlement in Saldanha Bay where she lived with her mother. Smith’s whereabouts are still unknown, and police said they plan to refocus on their search. “At this stage, we do not have a child,” Western Cape province police commissioner Thembisile Patekile. “Our ultimate goal is to find the child. We still want to find that child alive.”