An 18-year-old mentally disturbed teen from Gonubie who also suffers from epilepsy was yesterday found safe by police after having gone missing four days ago.
The teen, who is not being identified, went missing from his Mzamomhle township home, leading to a frantic search by friends and relatives.
His mother said she had run out of hope of finding her son alive as they had no clue what had happened to him.
Family members even visited the government mortuary, local hospitals and police stations looking for the teen but turned up empty handed.
“As he is epileptic, we were worried that we would not find him alive. But through our prayers and thanks to the police teams that searched for him since the weekend, we managed to find him alive and well,” said the mother.
“The effort that have done to find him has been praised by my family. We don’t know how he survived out there without his daily medication.”
The teen, who has suffered from epilepsy since birth, was finally located about 500m from his house in thick bush.
He is unable to talk properly, making it difficult for him to communicate with people.
His mother stopped working to stay at home and look after him. “He never went missing for the whole day before,” she said.
“It would be an hour or two before community members returned him home.”
A Daily Dispatch team joined police officers from the K9 unit, the diving unit and mounted unit in the search yesterday as a police helicopter circled above.
Family and friends also participated. “We are really worried about his whereabouts,” the tearful mom said earlier in the day.
But after about an hour’s search, her tears turned to cheers as she was reunited with her son.
Two female officers from the East London police’s mounted unit – Constable Weziwe Mnqolo and Constable Merilene Ngunuza – found the teen in a bushy area. He was dehydrated and offered water.
“When he saw us he looked up and we knew then that this is the person we are looking for. He looked confused but we managed to take him to the main road where help was waiting,” said Mnqolo.
His ecstatic mother said he had probably become dazed and disorientated and was unable to call for help due to his condition.
“The police efforts are really appreciated,” she said.
The single mother of three said she would love to take her son to a school that would cater for his needs. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za
Four-day search ends in joy
The teen, who is not being identified, went missing from his Mzamomhle township home, leading to a frantic search by friends and relatives.
His mother said she had run out of hope of finding her son alive as they had no clue what had happened to him.
Family members even visited the government mortuary, local hospitals and police stations looking for the teen but turned up empty handed.
“As he is epileptic, we were worried that we would not find him alive. But through our prayers and thanks to the police teams that searched for him since the weekend, we managed to find him alive and well,” said the mother.
“The effort that have done to find him has been praised by my family. We don’t know how he survived out there without his daily medication.”
The teen, who has suffered from epilepsy since birth, was finally located about 500m from his house in thick bush.
He is unable to talk properly, making it difficult for him to communicate with people.
His mother stopped working to stay at home and look after him. “He never went missing for the whole day before,” she said.
“It would be an hour or two before community members returned him home.”
A Daily Dispatch team joined police officers from the K9 unit, the diving unit and mounted unit in the search yesterday as a police helicopter circled above.
Family and friends also participated. “We are really worried about his whereabouts,” the tearful mom said earlier in the day.
But after about an hour’s search, her tears turned to cheers as she was reunited with her son.
Two female officers from the East London police’s mounted unit – Constable Weziwe Mnqolo and Constable Merilene Ngunuza – found the teen in a bushy area. He was dehydrated and offered water.
“When he saw us he looked up and we knew then that this is the person we are looking for. He looked confused but we managed to take him to the main road where help was waiting,” said Mnqolo.
His ecstatic mother said he had probably become dazed and disorientated and was unable to call for help due to his condition.
“The police efforts are really appreciated,” she said.
The single mother of three said she would love to take her son to a school that would cater for his needs. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za
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