When Dorine Achieng received an unexpected WhatsApp call from her younger sister, Rose Benta Atieno, in the evening of Sunday, April 5, 2026, she could not have imagined it would mark the beginning of a desperate and unrelenting search for a loved one whose whereabouts remain unknown to date.
The call came at precisely 6.21 pm. Before she could answer, it abruptly ended. Ms Achieng called back immediately, but the phone was already offline.
Moments later, a single crying emoji arrived via WhatsApp - silent, yet heavy with distress. She responded at once, but her message was met with an unsettling void. Alarmed, she tried calling again, only to find the phone had been switched off.
“I called her again multiple times, but the phone remained unreachable. By 9 pm, I gave up and went to bed, hoping we would speak the following day,” Ms Achieng recounted.
Morning brought no comfort, only deeper dread. She awoke to multiple missed WhatsApp calls from her sister, logged between 12.53 am and 1.09 am. Alongside them was a long, chilling message.
In it, her missing sister revealed she was in grave danger and urgently needed help.
According to Ms Achieng, her sister recounted a harrowing ordeal of how she was picked up by a young man who allegedly spiked her drink, offered her bhang and alcohol, and later raped her. She wrote that she had tried, in vain, to reach Ms Achieng by phone.
“In her final message, my sister said she was in immense pain and needed immediate help. But she did not disclose her location,” Ms Achieng explained, recalling how her calls once again went unanswered.
Fearing the worst, she alerted her husband. Together, they travelled to her sister’s school at Ramogi Institute of Advanced Technology (RIAT) in Kisumu.
Upon arrival, they found her hostel room locked from the outside. Neighbours revealed that the 21-year-old was last seen at her residence on Sunday morning. They also reported that her ex-boyfriend had visited that morning, left, and later returned at around 4 pm.
“We immediately reported a missing persons case at RIAT Police Post, but were referred to Maseno Police Station, where the case was filed under OB number 07/06/04/2026,” said Michael Bondo, the victim’s cousin.
Rose Benta Apondi.
Photo credit: Pool
On Tuesday, the family received a lead that Ms Atieno’s phone had been traced to Milimani Estate in Kisumu.
Police further confirmed that her ex-boyfriend had been arrested at the same location where her phone was last used.
“The police are treating him as the main suspect, as he was reportedly the last person seen with our sister and was found at the location where her phone was tracked,” Mr Bondo explained.
However, the family says he has yet to provide any meaningful information. He claims he, too, had been trying unsuccessfully to reach Ms Atieno.
In a troubling revelation, Ms Achieng disclosed that her sister had previously confided in her about threats from the same man after she expressed her intention to end the relationship.
Ms Atieno had reportedly planned to leave her 24-year-old boyfriend due to his violent temperament, though she had not indicated that the abuse had turned physical.
“She told me he had warned her that if she walked away, he would do something she would live to regret. She went missing exactly two weeks after ending the relationship,” Ms Achieng noted.
Described as calm, caring and deeply connected to her family, Ms Atieno maintained close contact with her loved ones, calling daily to check in or share her movements - a habit whose sudden silence now rings painfully loud.
“We are appealing to anyone who may have seen my sister to report to the nearest police station or contact our family,” Mr Bondo appealed.
When reached for comment, the investigating officer, confirmed the arrest of the victim’s ex-boyfriend, who is allegedly linked to her disappearance.
“As it stands, we cannot draw conclusions. Investigations are ongoing as we work to establish the lady’s whereabouts and trace her missing phone,” he said.
For now, a family waits, caught between hope and heartbreak, as the search for Rose Benta Atieno continues.
