The Erongo police have expressed concern over the number of young people who leave their homes without informing their parents and guardians, forcing them to report them missing.

Erongo police spokesperson, Chief Inspector Ilene Shapumba, said searching for people who aren’t actually missing is a waste of police resources that could be used to prevent actual crime. He said the police have to investigate every case, but that parents who report children missing often withhold information and do not reveal the general context, with police later discovering that for some of them, it is habitual. 

A neighbourhood watch member revealed that they have found that young women and girls visit their boyfriends out of town and often fail to communicate with their parents. She said the region is still reeling from the shocking murders of Sheehama Matheus and Shannon Wasserfal, whose lifeless bodies were found after they were reported missing.

“When we see a girl's picture on Facebook as missing, we think, 'Oh, not another Shannon story'. It’s very frustrating what these girls in Walvis Bay are doing. We searched for Shannon for months. So when these girls go missing, we are scared and fear for the worst; meanwhile, they are visiting boyfriends; it’s shameful,” she said. 

Shapumba, however, urged the public to continue supporting efforts to trace anyone reported missing, saying the police treat every case as a serious one.