“It shows that social media can be a force for good when people come together,” Ntshwen said.
Social media rightly gets a bad rap because it is frequently used by many people for nefarious activities.
But for former YoTV children's presenter Karabo Ntsweni, social media played a vital role in finding her missing father.
“Please note that our father has been found. He is alive but in poor condition. [is] Currently hospitalized. Thank you very much for sharing the post. It really helped,” the station shared Thursday morning.
Social media has been very helpful. Apparently one of the nurses saw my post and found out that I had been caring for my father when he was taken to the hospital. She then got hold of us via the contact details provided on the poster. Thank you so much everyone for sharing the post which was very helpful.
— Karabo Ntshweng (@KaraboNtshweng) November 28, 2024
Ntshwen's father has been missing since he was last seen on November 20th.
A missing person flyer was created with his photo and a brief description of his height, weight, and what he was last seen wearing.
The flyer was shared on social media platforms including X (formerly Twitter). Ms Ntshweni said her 61-year-old father was taken from Danville, Pretoria West.
flat crime watch Presenter Yusuf Abramji retweeted the flyer to raise awareness.
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A nurse caring for her father in hospital contacted the family after seeing Ntsweng's social media posts.
“Apparently one of the nurses saw my post and found out that she was caring for my father who was taken to the hospital,” Ntshwen said.
“She then got hold of us via the contact details provided on the poster. Thank you everyone for sharing such a helpful post.”
The Citizen Ntshweng did not respond to requests for comment.
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“Police are investigating”
talk to news 24the 5FM radio host said the experience demonstrated the power of technology tools.
“It shows that social media can be a force for good when people come together,” she says.
Ms Ntshweni said police were still investigating what conditions her father went through while he was missing.
“It is possible that he was driven around to withdraw money from his account, but police are still investigating.”
Earlier this year, National Police Spokesperson Brigadier General Atlenda Mate said that in the past financial year, 4,941 missing persons cases were reported to various police stations across the country and 2,437 cases were solved.
According to police, 38,322 missing persons cases were reported nationwide from 1995 to March 2024.
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