Abbigail Joseph

Abbigail Joseph, 29 (at the time of her disappearance), missing since 2nd September, 2008.

T&T Guardian (2021) – Anton John, who is now 35 years old and lives in San Juan, remembers the incident as if it were yesterday.

As he recalls the story…It was September 2, 2008.

His sister, Abigail Joseph, 29 at that time, was supposed to have picked up her child after school but never showed up.

Around 5.30 that evening they received a frantic call saying that Joseph did not pick up her son at school. John then called her close friend Nathalie to find out if she was with her.

They then went to the Belmont Police Station to report the situation and were told that 24 hours would have to pass before she is considered missing.

In an interview with the Sunday Guardian, he blames the police service for not moving faster on the tip-offs that they received at that time. He said based on what he has seen since the police service has improved in how it deals with these cases and now operate more efficiently.

He believes she was the victim of human trafficking. He described his sister as being conservative, quiet, and family-oriented and believes that human traffickers are looking for these types of females to pounce upon and take advantage of.

That incident changed his life forever. John, who has three sisters, said he has become less trusting of other people and he has taken more interest in the safety of females.

13 years later, he still holds hope that he will see his missing sister again.

He said seeing Bharatt’s case all over the news and social media has brought back a lot of painful memories of his older sister.

He called on citizens to look out for each other and to act responsibly.