15-year-old Ismael Omar has reportedly gone missing after chatting with an Indian man on Facebook.
His parents, Farhia Adan (mother) and Omar Mohamed (father) said their son went missing on Saturday after he left home for school and was last seen boarding at 14-seater matatu at King’orani Mombasa.
The parents became worried after the Standard 8 pupil of Small and Smart Academy failed to return home at noon as expected, prompting them to start looking for him.
In school, the parents were told their boy had not reported to school on that particular day.
They inquired from his friends who told them that Ismael had informed them about a man from Mtwapa who he was chatting with on Facebook and how he wanted him to travel to Tanzania.“The information we have is that they had been chatting on social media, Facebook in particular.
We are not sure whether he followed the man to Mtwapa. They told us that they cautioned him against trusting his newfound friend and advised him to focus on KCPE examinations that are around the corner,” narrated the father.
According to the father, Ismael had told them he would visit the man on Friday, to initiate the process of looking for a passport to Tanzania.
The mother, Adan described Ismael, a third born in a family of four children, as obedient, humble, polite and disciplined.
“I wonder how he mastered the courage to trust a stranger. He is a coward who never sleeps alone. He even gets scared by a cat,” she said.
The family reported the matter to the Central police station in Mombasa in fear that their son might have been recruited to a crime gang.
“If anybody comes across him or has seen him somewhere, please call us on this numbers. Farhiya - 0721167985; Omar – 0720356365,” said the mother.