Durban - As friends and family of missing Kloof businessman Bruce Galloway were left grappling for answers about his mysterious early-morning disappearance on Tuesday, police and private investigators were going through security camera footage to try to make sense of what had happened to him.
The 59-year-old’s cellphone, wallet, iPad and bank cards - crucial items which could be used to trace him - were left inside and on his vehicle.
This meant the eye-in-the-sky surveillance cameras in and around the area were now the best bet in searching for clues.
They are also investigating his business dealings to ascertain whether there could be any links to his disappearance.
Galloway - a former chairman of the South African Sugar Association and the SA Canegrowers’ Association - had apparently been abducted from the driveway of his Intengu Avenue home at about 3.30am as he prepared to leave for Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, where he owns a business.
His glasses were found on the 20m driveway alongside the intercom, and a patch of damaged grass has the family believing there may have been a tussle.
A newspaper delivery agent, who was said to know Galloway by name, reported that, at about 3.15am, he had seen Galloway’s car parked in his driveway with its headlights on. He had assumed Galloway was in the car.
But apart from neighbourhood dogs barking at about the same time as his disappearance and blurred CCTV footage from a neighbour showing an unknown vehicle speeding off from the house, all leads were cold.
Police cordoned off the driveway for almost four hours on Tuesday while forensic investigators took fingerprints and searched for possible leads. About 20 cars were parked along the road leading to the Galloway home as well-wishers comforted the family, hoping for good news.
Galloway’s daughter-in-law Kim said he usually travelled to Mthatha weekly, but had not gone there recently. The days of the week on which he travelled were varied.
She said Galloway’s wife, Les, noticed his car was still in the driveway at about 7am, after she went outside.
“That’s when she contacted everyone… We are shocked and trying to stay calm and supporting each other. We are just hoping for the best and hope he’ll be found soon,” she said.
Nico Potgieter, the head of Enforce’s Private Investigations, said they were trying to determine a possible motive behind the suspected abduction.
“We are viewing video footage from in and around the area and trying to establish what could have happened. We also need to see if it was related to any business dealings,” he said.
Private investigator Brad Nathanson is also investigating the incident. On his Facebook page on Tuesday he posed the following questions:
* “If Galloway was abducted, as is alleged, who knew he would be leaving home at 3am?
* “What do the abductors want as there has been no ransom demand as yet? Everything that we could use to track Galloway was left behind by the abductors, including his mobile phone and iPad.
* “Why was his car left in the driveway to alert everybody that he had been abducted?
“There has been no movement on his bank accounts. It’s as if he was abducted by aliens. Please help the family to find him,” he wrote.
Rob Philipson, the managing director of Spar KwaZulu-Natal, said Galloway owned a Spar franchise and a few Build-It shops, and had been involved with the group for about five years.
SA Canegrowers’ Association spokeswoman Jane Ferguson said Galloway joined the organisation’s executive committee in 1988, and became vice-chairman in 1995 and chairman in 1997. He then alternated between chairman and vice-chairman every two years until the end of 2008 when he retired from the organisation.
She said he had been an outstanding leader. “We are very anxious for his family and for him at this point,” she said.
Police spokesman Vincent Mdunge said they were investigating a case of kidnapping.
The Mercury