A 16-year-old Form One student who has been missing for a period of 15 months in Molo, Nakuru county, was finally reunited with her family on Tuesday, August 3.
The student went missing after disappearing from her parent's home on April 4, 2020. She was reported to have simply left home in what her parents thought was routine.
What her parents did not know at the time, is that when Bella left home at 11 am on that fateful morning, she would go missing for over a year.
Bella's father, Martin Shikuku, reported that her daughter was found by an unknown man on Tuesday evening after the gentleman was sent a message with an image of what looked like a photo of Bella.
"At around 6:45 pm yesterday, a young man approached and informed me that a captured picture of a young teenager was sent to him and he suspected that it was Bella," revealed Shikuku.
The family of Bella Martin has been searching for her around the country and in Uganda, and even reported their tragic story to local media houses which ran her disappearance story, capturing the pain of Bella's parents.
According to her parents, Bella was found safe and unharmed and would be recording a statement at the Molo Police Station as police conduct further investigations on her disappearance.
Celebrating the finding of his daughter, the relieved Shikuku was overcome with emotion, recounting his ordeal of months of a frantic search for his daughter without success.
"I thank God because my daughter is alive and well...we see many disappearing teenagers who disappear and are only found murdered or never even found...I thank God mine has been found alive and well," remarked an overjoyed Shikuku.
The girl's father had previously revealed on television, his fears with the disappearance of his daughter, pleading with anyone who had seen her, to relay any information. He even pleaded with anyone who may have held Bella hostage, promising to pay any cost to reunite with his daughter.
"You see kids on television being reported dead after disappearing. The question is, is she alive? If she is alive, is someone keeping her? If someone is keeping her, the only thing I am requesting from them is to let me know; we will do anything to get our daughter back," pleaded Shikuku in an interview.
Bella had been a Form One student at the time of her disappearance and was set to join Form Two in July, but her parents are unconcerned with the lost time, and only focused on the joy of reuniting with their daughter.
