It has been three years since the family of Reuben Mogeni Okari, a police officer, last saw their son John Mwalimu Okari.

But in a strange twist, the family rescued two lost children from the streets as they searched for their son. They luckily managed to unite one of the boys with his parents though the family is yet to link the other child to his relatives.

However, three years on, they are still searching for their son who was 13-years-old when he went missing.

Normally, the boy would walk for 500 metres from the house to the main road where a school van would pick him. Okari left the house just before 6am as the bus would arrive at 6.15am.
As the parents would later learn, on that day he never made it to school. What happened between the house and the bus stop still remains a mystery to them.

"I remember giving him a message to pass on to the headmaster that I would not see him that day as we had agreed. When I arrived home in the evening, I was told Okari had not arrived from school," recalls Mogeni.

The father says he called the headmaster and was shocked to learn that his son never showed up at school that day.

"I asked him if my son had an evening lesson that made him delay in school, but I was shocked to hear that he had not been seen the whole day," says Mogeni.
The family got more concerned when the headmaster said the school van had not picked him up at the usual place as he was not there.

"His school mates said they never saw him that morning," he says.

Since then, Mogeni and his wife Ruth have been searching for him in all places they suspect he could have gone to.

"I have been to Nairobi, Narok, Kajiado, Kiambu, Thika and even Machakos. I have also visited hospitals and children’s homes without success," says a tearful father.
He regrets that media announcements about his missing son have resulted in conmen taking advantage to make money  from him. 
People claiming to know the whereabouts of his son called him and asked for airtime to help him trace the son.

Others demanded he send cash through M-Pesa but they would disappear whenever he suggests they meet face to face.

"After all these attempts, I have always come back dejected and distressed," Mogeni says.
He adds: "We have agonised for three years. We are still feeling the pain and having sleepless nights. Every single thought of his whereabouts throws us into confusion."

Mogeni says he believes his son is well somewhere and hopes that one day he will reunite with him.

"I suspect that someone might have lured him to an unknown destination," he says.
He reported the disappearance at Rongai Police Station and later at other stations across the country. He says when he disappeared, Okari was wearing a grey shirt, navy blue shorts, navy blue jumper, red socks and black shoes. He also had a school bag and books.

"Each day that passes without knowing his whereabouts adds misery to our lives, but we are optimistic we will find him one day. We are appealing to any person who might have seen the boy to contact Ngong Police or any other police station or call 0721592649, 0725086399 or 0725793181," he pleads.
But even as they live with the pain of losing a son, the family is happy that at least while looking for him, they were able to rescue two boys, one in Rongai and another in Nairobi, who were also cut off from their relatives.
He says one boy, Zachary Onkwani, is yet to be claimed by the relatives even after they were traced to Kisii.
According to Mogeni, Onkwani told them that he was born of a single mother who later passed on and left him under the care of his uncles in Manga, Borabu District.
Then one day, a relative took him for a safari and ended up in Nairobi where he abandoned him on the streets.

Mogeni says he found the boy stranded with nowhere to go.

"He told us he hails from Manga near Nyansiongo Boys High School. He said he used to study at Nyansiongo Primary School," says Mogeni.

Mogeni visited the area and traced some relatives who promised to come for him but none has ever showed up.

He says he stayed with the boy until he sat for his KCPE exams. He passed well and is now a form one student at St Lawrence Secondary School in Ngong.
Mogeni regrets that the boy’s maternal relatives have declined to take him despite there being evidence he is their nephew.

Even as he takes care of Onkwani, he is hopeful that God will reward him by bringing back his son