A concerned relative of two missing teenage sisters from Princes Town is urging the government to implement stringent restrictions on minors’ access to social media platforms, citing grave dangers posed by unsupervised online activity. The appeal follows the disappearance of Celina Balliram, 15, and her sister Alena Baksh, 12, from their grandmother’s home in St. Croix last Friday.
The girls were last observed around 8:45 a.m. departing to purchase doubles from a local vendor. After their failure to return nearly two hours later, family members alerted authorities. Police descriptions detail Celina as 4’5″ with brown complexion, medium build, long black hair, brown eyes, and last seen in a blue short dress with black netting. Alena is described as 5′ tall with light brown complexion, slim build, long black hair, grey eyes, and was wearing a white crop top with a black short skirt.
In an anonymous telephone interview, the relative expressed conviction that the sisters were deliberately targeted by older males through their active Instagram profiles. ‘The Government should impose a complete ban on social media for children,’ she asserted. ‘They are exposed to predatory individuals who conceal their identities behind false profiles. These platforms enable adults to systematically target vulnerable youth.’
The relative revealed this marks the third disappearance incident for Celina, each spanning approximately two months, though notably the first for Alena. Despite attempted communication via WhatsApp, the sisters reportedly responded with hostility before blocking family contacts. Their father’s recent imprisonment for robbery and their mother’s inability to provide care have compounded familial challenges, leaving the grandmother to manage the household while simultaneously caring for her bedridden daughter and the sisters’ younger siblings, aged five and eight.
Neither sister has attended school since Carnival period. Celina was enrolled in Form Two at Princes Town West Secondary School, while Alena attended Standard Four at St. Stephen’s Anglican Primary School. The relative emphasized the grandmother’s overwhelmed circumstances and appealed directly for the sisters’ safe return.