Search for Milano continues as mother’s plea grips SA

The Johannesburg mother’s emotional confrontation with police over her missing two-year-old son has ignited widespread public outrage and renewed scrutiny of how authorities handle child disappearance cases.

Monique Knoetze, the mother of two-year-old Milano Jayson Tlali, was captured on video confronting officers outside a police station in an agonising plea for action.

The footage, which was posted last week on 17 July by TikTok creator @keepingitrealwithkels, shows a visibly distraught Knoetze raising her voice at officers, accusing them of doing nothing while her toddler remains missing.

Milano was last seen on 30 June at Glenesk Welfare Park in Springfield, Johannesburg South. The family reported him missing on the same day, but the mother’s frustration centres on what she perceives as a sluggish police response, a grievance rooted in the widely misunderstood “24-hour rule” for reporting missing persons.

In the video, Knoetze can be heard demanding answers, her voice trembling with anguish. The clip has since been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, sparking a wave of public sympathy and anger.

Despite persistent public confusion, South African law is clear: there is no waiting period to report a missing child. Both the South African Police Service (SAPS) and Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police have repeatedly emphasised this.

Criminologist Bianca van Aswegen, National Co-ordinator at Missing Children South Africa, has previously clarified: “There is no waiting period to report a missing person. The sooner the case is reported, the sooner action can be taken. The faster a case is reported, the faster authorities can act, especially when children are involved, as the first 24 to 48 hours are crucial.”

The Portfolio Committee on Police has expressed growing concern over “reports of members of the South African Police Service turning people away when they try to open a missing person report, on the basis of a non-existent 24-hour rule.” Committee Chairperson Ian Cameron labelled this “a serious dereliction of duty” that “amounts to undermining the SAPS code of conduct.”

A National Commissioner’s directive explicitly states there is no waiting period, and officers who refuse to open a case can be reported.

SAPS has confirmed that the investigation remains active. Provincial SAPS diving teams, a police helicopter, and the City of Johannesburg EMS Aquatic Rescue Unit conducted an extensive search of Wemmer Pan Dam following unconfirmed reports that Milano might have entered the water, as reported by The Citizen.

The operation, which lasted several hours on 2 July, was called off after no evidence linking Milano to the dam was found . The search team has not confirmed what transpired, and officials continue investigating the circumstances surrounding the boy’s disappearance.

According to information circulated by the family, Milano was wearing a blue tracksuit, a jersey, and Springbok pants at the time of his disappearance and was barefoot. His hair is styled in two ponytails.

Milano’s father, Teboho Tlali, has urged the public to stop interfering with the investigation (The Citizen).

“Today marks 15 days without any possible leads as to the whereabouts of our son,” Tlali said in a video shared on social media. “We would like people to just stay out of the case. Leave it to the two registered organisations working alongside SAPS, which is National Missing Persons and Missing in Southern Africa, alongside a local councillor, Hope of the People and MTR Responders” .

Knoetze echoed the plea, appealing for an end to speculative interference.

“I would just like to ask that everybody interfering in my son’s case, please can you all just back aside. With your interference, we’ve literally gotten nowhere. So I would just like to ask, can you guys please just back off and just let us find our son” .

She also appealed to anyone with credible information to contact SAPS or the official organisations assisting with the investigation.

Councillor Faeeza Chame dismissed online rumours suggesting that Moffat View SAPS is corrupt or that the investigation has been placed on hold. “SAPS has not abandoned this case. The investigation remains active, and a dedicated team is working exclusively on finding baby Milano and pursuing every possible lead,” Chame said.

The viral video has triggered a flood of emotional responses on social media.

“The focus should be on finding this little boy. Everything else can be dealt with when he is found. I pray to God they find him. It is horrendous,” one user wrote. Another expressed deep suspicion: “Something doesn’t seem right,” while others voiced frustration, asking, “Do police still work in SA?”

One user made a startling reference: “How in God’s name did this kid end up at the dam… who saw”. This points to unanswered questions surrounding the chain of events.

Despite the anger directed at police, some users urged understanding, with one writing: “Guys don’t judge the mother. As someone who has a family member missing for almost 30 years.

It takes a mere second for a child to vanish, and his mother wasn’t neglectful. He literally brought him in the bin. She saw him seconds before he was taken. So give the benefit of the doubt.”

Tebogo Tlali has expressed the family’s terror that their son may have been trafficked. “There are other units that are focusing on the human trafficking angle, and they are following up on any possible leads that come through. They have assured us that they will keep us updated,” he told SABC News.

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Source: The Citizen & SABC News