Cape Town – The body of a 22-year-old librarian has been found behind a crèche near Great Brak River, a coastal village in the Mossel Bay Local Municipality.
Her body was found in Jonkersberg, 43km from Mossel Bay, at 6pm on Tuesday, police said.
"The police's forensic services are still conducting an investigation at the scene," said Southern Cape police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Laurianne Botha said residents launched a search party for her when she did not return home from work, Algoafm reported.
She said an 11-year-old boy found her lying on her stomach with her hands and feet bound, with tape over her mouth and a cable tie around her neck.
The Mosselberg Advertiser said she was last seen leaving the house she shared with a friend at 7am on Tuesday. The sole employee at the library, she had left to go to work just a kilometre away from her house.
Botha said her cellphone and the library's keys are missing and that no arrests had been made.
A Jonkersberg resident told Netwerk24: "Everyone knows each other here. Things like this don't happen here.
"She was very dedicated. Sy loved children and was the same every day. She was a lovely person who wouldn't hurt a fly.
"She always had a smile on her face."
According to tributes on Facebook for Nuys, she was the "girl with the pretty smile", who was known for being quiet and focused, and had a heart of gold.
She leaves behind a sister, Chantelle Nuys.