JOHANNESBURG - For two weeks, young parents Monique and Teboho Tlali have endured agony.
Their two-year-old son, Milano Tlali, disappeared without a trace on 30 June.
The toddler went missing just metres from his home while playing with other children in the struggling but close-knit community.
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Speaking to eNCA, Milano's mother expressed her pain over the matter as she pleaded for her son's safe return home.
"I am really not fine. I just want my son back. I don't know how to feel anymore. It's been over 10 days, not hearing his voice, not seeing him.
"Whoever took my son, I'm just asking it very nicely. Please just bring my son back... He doesn't deserve to be in the position,”Knoetze pleaded.
In the hours following his disappearance, emergency teams searched the Wemmer Pan dam, where children say he was last seen.
Community members have also questioned how the toddler could have made his way to the dam on his own.
As allegations and speculation continue to circulate, Milano's father, Teboho Tlali, said they have no reason to believe that anyone would have taken their son.
"It can't be money because we don't have money. And I haven't been in a fight with anyone that would be so bad that they had to take my son. And as for drugs, drugs are something that we don't use as a family."
With no trace of two-year-old Milano Tlali, police say investigations are ongoing.