Mother suspects missing daughters are victims of human trafficking

WESTERN BUREAU:

Residents of Top Road in Ulster Spring, Trelawny, are now in a state of bewilderment as they try to come to grips with the mysterious disappearance of two sisters from the community, who went missing last Wednesday.

The sisters, 14-year-old Tracy-Ann Cowell, and 16-year-old Dahlia Cowell, both students at Albert Town High School, also in Trelawny, left their home last Wednesday for the nearby Ulster Spring Clinic, where they were slated to do their back-to-school medical.

Elaine Brown, the 41-year-old mother of the girls, has taken their disappearance hard and has not been able to function normally as she has been gripped by fear for their well-being.

“Mi nuh eat since Wednesday and no sleep nuh come a mi eye,” said the female farmer, who is popularly known as Blanche. “Every time mi fi sleep mi jump up.”

The mother of four girls believes her daughters could be the victims of human trafficking, based on a brief telephone interaction she had with the older of the two girls on Saturday night.

“Mi get a call and Dahlia seh ‘Mommy’, but before she coulda talk, is like smaddy tek the phone,” said the distraught mother. “One woman come pon di phone an tell mi seh dem aright. ‘Mi have dem a Martha Brae and mi soon carry dem go a Bay’ (Montego Bay). Den she hang up.”

Like her daughter, 58-year-old Dorothy Brown, grandmother of the missing girls, was a picture of distress when The Gleaner visited her home. She struggled to put her thoughts together as she reflected on happier times with her granddaughters.

“Mi nuh know wha fi seh. Dem a nuh bad pickney. If yu sen dem out, dem go and come back,” said the grandmother. “Nutten lacka dis neva happen. Mi sad seh dem gone but at least dem nuh dead.”

A resident of the community, who asked that her identity not be disclosed, said she too is baffled by the situation as her daughter, who is close to one of the sisters, sent her a WhatsApp message. However, while the message was open, there was no response.

“Dahlia and my daughter are close friends. She send her a WhatsApp message. The message was open but no answer. Yuh si dis Internet yah. It mek pickney do all kind a things,” the woman said. “Mi a wonder if a dem plan fi meet smaddy and tings go wrong.”

“Fi mi pickney nah go pan nuh Internet without mi watch dem. Yu se dis human trafficking? A serious ting. Mi very suspicious,” the woman added.

Cassandra Campbell, a librarian at the parish library in Albert Town, said that while she could not vouch for the behaviour of the girls in their community, their behaviour was up to standard when they visited the library to do school assignments.

“When they come to the library, they are usually quiet, do their assignment and leave,” said Campbell, who is hoping that no harm will come to the girls.

The matter of the missing girls, and the brief telephone contact Dahlia had with her mother, was reported at both the Ulster Spring Police Station and the Falmouth Police Station.

“We received a report from the mother on Saturday night and investigations are ongoing,” a corporal at the Ulster Spring Police Station told The Gleaner.