Port Elizabeth - The search for nine-year-old Recolin Witbooi, who has been missing for more than two months continues, Eastern Cape police said on Thursday.
Witbooi was last seen at 76 days ago on July 6 at around 1:30pm playing with friends in Uranus Street in Helenvale where he lives with his mom.
He did not go back home and was wearing a black hoodie top, black track suit pants and a pair of white Nike sneakers.
Police spokeswoman Colonel Priscilla Naidu said extensive searches were conducted in the vicinity, as well as in bushes in the vicinity.
Naidu said the SAPS K9 unit, a police helicopter, members from the Family Violence Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit as well as police officers from several stations combed the bushes in search of him.
“The team visited various robots following up on the speculation that he was seen begging and he was never seen or known at these robots. We have received a number of calls from people saying that they have seen him and we appreciate these calls however we appeal to the public that if they suspect that they have spotted the boy, they should stop and take him with them and then contact the police.
''By just phoning us with a likely sighting of him delays our reaction time to get to the place of where he was seen. When we get there, there is no one around.”
A private investigator from Cold Cases South Africa, Leon Nel, also offered his services to the family for free.