Missing teens tell parents ‘we are safe’

TWO TEENAGED girls who were reported missing by their relatives in separate incidents in South Trinidad have been in contact with police and, although their whereabouts remain a mystery, are reported to be “safe and unharmed.” Newsday was told that 14-year-old Seema Sookdeo of California, who witnessed the murder of her elder brother, is said to be in a location described by policemen as “safe.” Yesterday, she telephoned her family and was supposed to visit them at their Seventh Street, New Settlement home in California. Her worried grandmother Bissoondaye Dhanesar, who reported her missing since last week Friday, told Newsday, “I just wanted her to call and tell us where she is and if she alright. “She just left here without telling us anything and I was worried about her,” the grandmother said.

Dhanesar said she was in fear for her grand-daughter’s life, since the girl is a witness in the murder case against brother Shivanand Sookdeo’s alleged murderer. Police were said to be treating the case delicately since Sookdeo is a witness in the case of a teenaged boy who is charged with murdering Shivanand. Shivanand, 18, was fatally stabbed on August 15 outside his home as he intervened in a violent argument between his sister Seema and his alleged killer. As Shivanand attempted to protect his sister, the accused teenager allegedly stabbed him in the chest. Meanwhile, in the second report, a 15-year-old girl of Penal who was reported missing by her father telephoned police yesterday and told them that she was “alive and well.”

The father, who refused to give his name to Newsday, on Wednesday said his daughter went missing on August 22 while in custody at Penal Police Station. However, police have said that as a result of an alleged domestic dispute, the girl ran away from home. Sometime later, the teen, who is a Convent student, and her parents visited the police station and after speaking with police, made arrangements to visit with a probation officer the next day. When the girl did not turn up as pre-arranged, a Missing Person Report was filed by her father. However, while both teens have made telephone calls to loved ones and police respectively to state they were alive and well, they have not been found. Seema Sookdeo did not return home up to 5 pm yesterday, while the whereabouts of the other girl was not known by police. Investigations are continuing.