Durban - A Durban grandmother and community role model, who had been missing since last weekend, has been found dead near her home.
The body of Angeline Saunders, 57, was found in thick bush along Newlands East Drive - a stone’s throw from her home.
Her family had last seen her the previous Sunday.
The gruesome discovery was made on Friday by neighbours who refused to give up the search after police, using sniffer dogs, allegedly said they could only continue looking for her on Monday.
Hayley Haynes, who was in the search party that made the find, said her family had become concerned when her mother did not come home that Sunday night.
To add to their woes Newlands East police station told them to wait 48 hours before they could report her missing, she said.
But on Wednesday they were told to report to Greenwood Park police because the area where Saunders was found, Quarry Heights, fell in their jurisdiction. Saunders often visited friends in Quarry Heights using a pathway lined by bush.
Concerned neighbour Lucrecia Joanne Ryan said police had questioned several people in the Quarry Heights area whom Saunders might have been with on the day she went missing.
“Family and friends walked through a dense vegetation pathway from Quarry Heights to Newlands East Drive but could not find anything. On Friday police sent a dog to sniff the area for any bodies but after 45 minutes the search proved fruitless,” Ryan said.
“We were told the dog unit could only return on Monday to continue the search. We did not give up. Residents teamed up in groups of three and we continued to walk along the perimeter of the bush. We searched behind the Barracuda Primary School fence and Mamba Park river banks.”
Haynes said she was left devastated and had to look away when they found the body.
“Someone caught a glimpse of a leg in the thick bushes several metres off the pathway. They cut a path through to the area to reach her. We recognised her by the clothing she was last wearing. We assume she was strangled with her jersey. It was heartbreaking.”
The family wonder whether Saunders was killed somewhere else and dumped there.
Haynes said she would be receiving the post-mortem results on Monday. She will meet the investigating officer to follow leads that could result in an arrest.
Close friend and neighbour, Linda Webster, said Saunders would drop whatever she was doing to assist people in need.
“She delivered several babies in Quarry Heights including one outside her front door nine years ago. Women and teenage girls looked to her for guidance. They have robbed us dearly of a wonderful person,” Webster said.
“She would be a confidant and shoulder to cry on. She cared for all the children in the neighbourhood.”
Ryan said she was a wife, mother, granny and friend. Saunders was a mother of three and grandmother of five.
“She was the strong pillar in her family, loved by all. So sad to think a person could have done this to a mum. We hope the culprits are brought to book.”
Saunders will be buried at Newlands East Cemetery on Saturday.
SAPS spokesman, Colonel Jay Naicker, could not immediately comment on claims that police had delayed the search. He confirmed on Monday that police were investigating a case of murder.
Daily News