Cape Town - Massimo Filante, a 29-year-old Hout Bay man who went missing on Wednesday and was found on Table Mountain on Thursday, has been reunited with his mother.
Filante left his home in Hout Bay on Wednesday and was meant to catch the MyCiTi bus heading towards the V&A Waterfront. Alarms were raised after Filante, described as a very introverted young man who suffers from social anxiety, did not return home on Wednesday.
Community Crime Prevention (CCP), an NPO established by a group of concerned residents already working in social crime prevention and response, posted about the missing man and was able to track him down.
The police and security service providers (SSPs) who searched for Filante on Wednesday night in both Hout Bay and Camps Bay, they had found no trace of him.
CCP was able to find him with the assistance of Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, after requesting security footage from various places to track down where Filante was last seen.
“Footage then came through from TMAC (Table Mountain Aerial Cableway) of a person stuck up on Table Mountain in this weather – that person fitted Massimo's description.”
CCP added: “The most incredible trail runner, Armand Du Plessis, then ran up to the top to let Massimo know help was on the way while the cableway staff and management monitored the CCTV feed watching Massimo, but were unable to talk to him.
“Armand got to him, gave him something warm to wear and something to eat and drink while Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR), SANParks, metro rescue were on the way up...”
Filante, however was forced to spend the night on the mountain due to the impact of the cold front that arrived on Thursday.
Cape Town is currently experiencing a “severe storm” that made landfall in the province on Thursday, and has continued with disruptive rainfall into Friday.
SANParks referred the Cape Argus to WSAR.
WSAR spokesperson John Marais said that while they reached him on Thursday evening, the weather conditions had forced them to spend the night with Filante at the Upper Cable Station on Table Mountain.
He provided an update on Friday morning and that as of 7:30am were already down.
“They are down already, (and) hitched a ride on the cable car taking staff up the mountain.”
SAPS spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi said that while Hout Bay police had started with the preliminary investigation into his disappearance, “according to reports it is confirmed that the mentioned person was rescued from Table Mountain on Thursday and has since been reunited with his mother”.