•The U20 Rising Starlets captain, left her home on Wednesday night for GSU headquarters Thika Road, where players were to converge at 7.30pm
•Almost 24 hours later around 8pm, Hato was found safe and re-united with her family. She was found in Juja, Kiambu county.
Image: Police buullets FC
News that missing Police bullets FC midfielder Jane Hato had been found safe, and out of danger saw her family, teammates, and the public calm down after anxiety had taken over.
The U20 Rising Starlets captain left her home on Wednesday night for GSU headquarters Thika Road, where players were to converge at 7.30pm, before heading to Police Sacco Stadium and then to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for their flight to Addis Ababa Ethiopia.
However, she disappeared mysteriously with her phone silent leaving her family and teammates with more questions than answers.
Their flight to Addis was 2.00 am thus the early arrangements by police bullets management to ensure early arrival at JKIA, en route to Ethiopia for the Champions League zonal qualification match.
Hours after her disappearance, her mother Ann Aluoch, who doubles up as the Mathare United women and Starlets U20 coach posted on socials, pleading with the public to help find her.
Her distress call was answered by Police FC CEO Superintendent Chris Oguso, who assured the public to stay calm as they investigated the matter.
“It is disturbing that she has not been seen till now, but we are sure she is alive wherever she is. When we can’t find our player and we can’t tell where she is, we take it as a missing person case, as a club and as the government," Oguso stated at around 9.30pm Wednesday
Almost 24 hours later around 8pm, Hato was found safe safe and reunited with her family.
She was found in Juja, Kiambu county, after preliminary investigations had pinned her exact location to be Gachororo Health Centre Juja.
During an interview with Citizen, Police CEO Chris Oguso said she was likely in the custody of someone who knows her and they were treating the issue as a family matter before giving a comprehensive report.
Hato had just joined Police Bullets FC from Mathare United Women FC last month and was among the top players brought on board to ensure good performance in the CAF Champions League Zone Five qualifiers.
"We can confirm that Jane Hato is safe and sound. At the moment, let's give the family some privacy as they investigate what led to the disappearance of their daughter," Her former club Mathare United Women the club stated in a release.
Hato is rumoured to have struck a deal with a club in the USA, and some family members wanted her to miss the Ethiopia flight to process the American deal, but this could not be confirmed.
Football Kenya Federation who had earlier appealed for anyone with information leading to Hato’s location to come forward, also confirmed the news of her safety.
This is not the first time a player disappeared from camp mysteriously in Kenyan football.
KCB goalkeeper Brian Olang'o mysteriously disappearance on March 11th 2024 after a meet-up with former teammates.
He was later found the next day in Ngong forest having been abducted, beaten up and robbed by unknown people.
Halima Tadicha of the Kangemi Ladies, vanished in April 2023, after a match at Toi Grounds in Kibera and was later found after a prolonged search.
It is not yet clear if Hato will follow the team to Ethiopia but Police CEO Chris Oguso is expected to issue statement on the same later.