Johannesburg - A missing Free State man’s body was on Friday recovered in the Vaal River, a day after the 26-year-old’s family reported him missing to police.
Free State police said the body of 26-year-old Joseph Thapelo Makhanye was retrieved out of the Vaal River in Villiers on Friday.
Free State police spokesperson Captain Malebo Khosana said they had opened an inquest docket for further investigation and that a post-mortem would be held to determine Makhanye’s cause of death.
Khosana said Lieutenant Colonel Conrad Fouche led a group of police divers into the river.
He said police received information from the family that Makhanye’s clothes had been found near the Vaal River.
“A Bible with his name and address which was with the clothes assisted a herder to locate the family. At about 3.15pm, the body was taken out of the river by the police divers,” said Khosana.
“The retrieval of this lifeless body out of the river follows a missing person reported to Villiers SAPS by his family members on Thursday, 30 September 2021 at about 12.35pm.”
The police said the family reported the man missing two days after he went missing. It had initially been thought that he was roaming the streets and was expected to return home.
“They assert that they only became worried when a cattle herder came to their house to report that he found the Bible of the missing person next to the river with all of his clothing also lying there,” said Khosana.
“He alleged that he gathered the details of the missing person from the front page of the Bible with his address as well. Subsequently, family members went to the river where the missing person's clothing were found and identified by them.”
IOL