Pretoria - A family from Mamelodi east is pleading for assistance in locating 73-year-old Calvin Nkoane, who has been missing since Friday afternoon.
His son Mpho Nkoane said the family had earlier attempted to take his father to an old-age home as they had been informed that he suffered from dementia.
Nkoane said that on arriving at the old-age home, they were told to keep his father temporarily as workers at the facility were on strike.
He said when they returned home with his father, he requested to sit outside the house to cool off from the heat.
“We had not locked the gate, but since he was getting a bit sleepy, I went inside the house briefly, no longer than 30 minutes, and when I returned he was nowhere to be found.
“I immediately went out to look for him around the neighbourhood as I thought he could not have got very far, but I could not find him.”
Nkoane said this was the second time his father had wandered off; the first incident took place in October.
According to him, following the first disappearance, his father was found by a farmer after one day, who took him to the Kameeldrift police station.
“Our biggest worry is that he is wearing adult diapers, and he doesn’t take note of his surroundings or of cars. The first time we found him after one day, but this time around it's been five days and we're worried about what condition he must be in.“
Nkoane said the family were only made aware of his father's problem after he was admitted to the psychiatric ward at the Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital. He stayed there until he was released to the family in January this year. After this the decision was taken to have him admitted to an old-age home for his safety.
He was last seen wearing a dark blue jacket, a light blue check shirt, and dark blue pants at the time of disappearance.
"We've looked and checked everywhere from around the neighbourhood, hospitals, and clinics as well as police stations, this is our last resort for anyone who has seen him to help us bring him home. He is friendly and responds to his name when called.“
Pretoria News