“We’re desperate,” are the words of Tracy Franco, the sister of Ashleigh Crosbie, 50, who was last seen in Brooklyn on Sunday September 18.
Ms Franco says the family have taken it upon themselves to search for her sister because they don’t feel the police are doing enough.
She said she received an SMS from Ms Crosbie’s ex-boyfriend on Monday September 19, asking if she had heard or seen her because he had been unable to reach her since Sunday September 18, which was unlike her.
Ms Franco responded to the text at the time, saying she also hadn’t seen or heard from her sister.
She said Ms Crosbie was last seen leaving her home in Brooklyn, with her dog, to attend a party. She had been driving a silver BMW 3 Series rental.
She made it to the party but never returned home.
“This is unlike Ashleigh, she would always contact me and tell me what was happening in her life. We are very close,” she said.
Ms Franco said that since she had reported her sister missing on September 19, the police had not made contact with her about her sister’s whereabouts or told her if they had conducted searches.
She said she had visited Milnerton police station on Friday October 7 and had been told that they were investigating the case, but no one had gotten back to her, and her calls to the station had not been answered.
She said her sister’s ex-boyfriend had claimed to have filed a missing person case at Milnerton police station, but it turned out he had not and she wanted to know why he had lied.
But she won’t learn the answer to that question, she said, because he died two weeks ago after suffering a massive heart attack.
“We as a family are looking for answers; we are desperate,” she said.
So far all leads – including rumours that her sister’s rented car had been spotted in Dunoon – had turned out to be dead ends, she said.
She encouraged the public to only contact her if they had relevant information about her sister’s whereabouts.
She admitted her sister was “no angel” and had battled substance-abuse problems, but it was unlike her to not make contact with the family.
“Even if she was going through a really tough time, as a result of childhood trauma and bad relationships, my sister would still reach out to us,” she said, choked on emotions.
“My parents are in a state, the family have tried to remain positive, but we are at that point where the worst-case scenarios are to be expected. My mother can’t sleep.
“I just want to know she is okay, and hear her voice. Ashleigh, if you’re out there, please just call me and make some sort of contact.”
Lezanne Basson, from the Western Cape Missing Persons Unit (WCMPU), said they had checked morgues, hospitals and prisons without finding any sign of Ms Crosbie.
The WCMPU is a is a non-profit organisation that was formed in 2017, following the gruesome death of Courtney Pieters, 3, of Elsies River, to help search for missing persons.
Ms Basson said Milnerton police station had also been of no help with Ms Crosbie’s case.
“The investigating officers of Milnerton police are supposed to work with us because that’s protocol, but they’re not. WCMPU cannot conduct searches for people without police presence because we don’t know the circumstances around the case, but they just haven’t been helpful with this case.”
She said the WCMPU had found new information on Ms Crosbie’s case, which she couldn’t divulge at this stage, but she said they needed Milnerton police to assist.
Milnerton Community Police Forum chairwoman Jacqui Pember said Milnerton police had not asked the CPF to help with searching for missing persons, and the CPF was only alerted to these cases through various community chat groups.
“When missing-person reports come through any of our various channels, we share these with each other and make sure the information reaches all members of our organisations, including neighbourhood watch groups and security companies,” she said.
Milnerton police spokesperson Captain Nopaya Madyibi said the missing-person investigation involving Ashleigh Crosbie continued and the police would communicate with family once they had new information.
Ms Crosbie can be identified by a piercing in her nose, a tattoo at the back of her neck and an appendectomy scar. She is 1.6 meters tall and has blonde hair and brown eyes. If you have information about her whereabouts, contact the Western Cape Missing Persons Unit at 071 639 8344 or 061 494 2032. Alternatively, email Ms Franco at tracyjeanfranco@gmail.com
