Joshlin Smith: Saldanha station commander troubled by Joshlin Smith's mother's words

CAPE TOWN - Saldanha Bay station commander Lincoln Sebola says he became concerned about missing girl Joshlin Smith's mother after she told him, "my child has made me famous."

Sebola continued his testimony on Thursday in the trial related to the disappearance of six-year-old.

The child vanished from her Middelpos home just over a year ago.

It's the State's case that Joshlin's mother, Kelly Smith, Jacquen Appollis and Stevano van Rhyn allegedly sold the child to an unknown woman in Saldanha Bay.

Sebola said he set up a search team and a joint operational centre at the police station on 20 February, the day after Joshlin went missing.

The colonel told the court he did not immediately join the search, but teams continued looking for the child until operations were called off at about 7pm due to bad weather.

Sebola told the court that when he joined the search, they covered areas including Hoogland, the beach area and adjacent dunes.

He said even after extra resources arrived from the City of Cape Town on 29 February, they could not find any trace of Joshlin.

The officer said he became suspicious of Smith after she told him her daughter's disappearance had brought her fame. 

Smith and her co-accused have been charged with kidnapping and human trafficking.

The trial continues.