Author: A.B.

Sasha-Lee November was the youngest of six children and grew up in Hanover Park. Sasha-Lee was a Grade 1 pupil at Belmor Primary School at the time of her disappearance in 2015. Her parents ared deceased now and both parents reportedly struggled with substance use. Given her parents’ struggles her early years likely were difficult. According to her missing person poster, Sasha-Lee was described as small and slender, with brown eyes, reddish-brown braided hair, thin lips, and a burn scar on one of her cheeks. In 2025, Sasha-Lee would be celebrating her 17th birthday. 

The investigation

From the outset, Sasha-Lee’s family believed her case was mishandled. On the day she disappeared, her mother went to the police station but was told to return after 24 hours, losing valuable time in the search for her. Jasmine Harris, Sasha-Lee’s sister, has repeatedly criticized the authorities over the years, arguing that an immediate search might have changed the outcome. Initially, the case was registered as a missing person, but it was later reclassified as a kidnapping after community members reported seeing Sasha-Lee being taken away by an unknown man—yet the family was never formally informed of this change.

School records show that concerns about Sasha-Lee’s behavior had been reported to the Department of Social Development (DSD) before her disappearance, but neither she nor her family received effective help. The DSD later confirmed it had no record of providing help, only noting that foster care placements were made for her siblings. Although the DSD stated it would investigate claims of neglect, many feel this response came too late—arguing that the lack of timely intervention was a missed opportunity to prefent the tragedy. 

Retired Colonel Dawood Laing, the station commander at the time, later admitted the investigation had “many holes.” He and community advocates criticized the police and child protection organizations for focusing on the search rather than looking into Sasha-Lee’s home life and those close to her home, especially after reports she was last seen with a man. Despite concerns about neglect and substance abuse, detectives did not thoroughly investigate Sasha-Lee's parents—a mistake that may have led to missed clues about her disappearance.

In 2022, Jasmine Harris again contacted the police for updates but received little clarity. The family learned that the investigation had been transferred to the Nyanga Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit, a specialized police unit responsible for cases involving vulnerable victims, including children. However, no significant progress was made.

Groenall Walk, the street where Sasha-Lee disappeared, has a grim history: in the past decade, two other girls—Sadieka Titus (16, missing since 2013) and Michelle Plaatjies (16, missing since 1999)—also vanished from the same area, with none of the cases solved.

By 2025, ten years after Sasha-Lee’s disappearance, police confirmed the case had run cold with no new leads, but is still active. The November family continues to mourn and search for answers, believing that critical mistakes and missed opportunities in the early investigation doomed their chances of finding Sasha-Lee. The case remains a haunting example of the consequences of systemic failures in missing children investigations in South Africa.

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