Nyasha Holder: I’m fearful of the worst

Nyasha Holder, close friend of Dauphine resident Shanika Small, says that like most other persons, she is hoping for the best, while fearing for the worst, as time drags on and efforts to locate the missing 20-year-old woman continue.{{more}}

In an interview with SEARCHLIGHT, shortly after another search of the Fenton mountains by Shanika’s friends on Tuesday October 25, Holder said that hope may be slowly fading for her friend.

The day before, Holder outlined to SEARCHLIGHT the information she had about the movements of her friend on the afternoon of Friday, October 21, the last day Shanika was seen.

“Just after four o’clock, people saw her at the R.C (Roman Catholic) School walking with a gentleman; and then people saw her at Heritage Square with a person bearing the same description. Somebody was saying it was actually one of her coworkers, but I’m not sure.”

Holder said that her friend was last seen at Aunt Jobe’s Supermarket at Arnos Vale some time before 6:00 p.m., from where she messaged a friend saying that she had forgotten her house keys at work and was waiting for someone to bring them to her.

At about eight o’clock, Holder said that Small’s landlord saw the young woman, who had only recently moved to the area, arrive home.

“We found out yesterday (Sunday), that somebody who was visiting a neighbor there, saw her trying to hustle away from a guy; and the description was tall and slim, but they couldn’t see his complexion, because it was dark. That was around minutes to eight, the person said.”

“In terms of later that night; she spoke to her mom around eight or nine o’clock. Her mom usually calls twice a day and Shanika updates her what she’s gonna do for the day. So we knew when all of this happened that it could not be a hoax or any games, because she always lets people know where she is going.”

According to Holder, Small had made plans to attend an event that was scheduled to take place on Saturday at a night club.

Holder indicated that to her knowledge, the last known interaction Small had with friends, was on Blackberry with Holder’s brother Orande, which lasted until around midnight, during which Small indicated that she was at home.

“About 3:33 (am), she sent a message saying ‘call 911’ (to Orande), and because he was sleeping, he didn’t see it the same time, until the next morning when he was going to do an exam, and he tried to reach her, but it kept going to his voice mail and she had no Blackberry service.”

Holder said that checks by her brother later that day to find out if any of Shanika’s friends had interacted with her, revealed that she had not been in contact with anyone that day. This raised an alarm and set efforts to locate her in motion.

A visit to the hospital as well as her apartment turned up nothing.

While at her apartment, a search of the premises showed that there was nothing visibly suspicious.

Later that evening, a call was made to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID); they were advised to contact the Calliaqua Police Station.

“We went to the Calliaqua Police Station; they told us they can’t do anything for 48 hours. That’s when I started sending out the (Blackberry) blast and created the (Facebook) page.”

Holder’s allegations concerning the response of the police were later denied by senior officers at the station, who stated that they acted on the information immediately upon receiving it.

Holder, who indicated that she has known the missing young woman for a number of years, said that while she tries to remain optimistic about her friend’s welfare, she believes time may not be on their side.

“I was hopefully initially that it may be a prank or something; but the fact that this has gotten so big… I’m fearful of the worst.”