A Centurion golf estate groundsman had a rough day with the grisly discovery of a severed arm partially buried in thick mud adjacent to the 11th hole of the Irene Country Club.
The discovery was made yesterday afternoon while the groundsman was inspecting water levels at the Hennops River following Sunday night’s heavy rain across Centurion.
The left arm, which was partially decomposed, is believed to have been ripped off a body and washed down the Hennops River, which flows through the club grounds, by the rains.
Golfers, who became curious after spotting police vehicles puttering across the golf course near the river’s banks, were left horrified after learning that an arm had been found on the estate’s western river bank.
A staff member from the club, who asked not to be named, said checks were being done to see how high the water levels were when the arm was found.
“It was really horrible. The arm was all brown and rotting near the hand and stank a lot. When I heard that an arm had been found I thought the other staff members were joking.
“It looked as though it had been removed neatly from the shoulder,” the staffer said.
Asked if a search of the remaining river banks for the body had been done by staff, the man said that the staff members were too afraid to go near the river. “We tried to keep it quiet, so as not to scare the golfers away. But when the police cars and divers came it was obvious that something was happening and people who were playing in the area, quickly discovered what had happened,” he said.
Police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Marinda Swanepoel confirmed that the arm had been found by the groundsman who was doing his daily checks.
She said investigators, who have opened an inquest docket, believed that the arm had been washed down the river by Sunday’s heavy rains.
Swanepoel said members of the Pretoria Dog Unit and Water Wing had been called into the area to help with the search for the body, but nothing had been found.
“At this stage we have no reports of any missing person from the area and will continue with our search for the body until we find it,” she said.
Swanepoel said judging by the state of decomposition, the arm had been in the water for some time.
“It has been removed by forensics investigators and sent for analysis for clues as to what might have happened to the person. At this stage it is not known whether the arm is that of a man or a woman,” she said.
Anyone with information on the identity or whereabouts of the body can contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111. - Pretoria News