Image via: Adobe Stock
Three-year-old boy found dead in vehicle hours after going missing
The boy’s body was discovered on Tuesday morning in an old vehicle parked in the backyard of a residence in Newtown Mbekweni near Wellington.
Image via: Adobe Stock
Western Cape police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a three-year-old boy. The body of the boy was found on Tuesday morning 13 October 2020 in an old vehicle in the backyard of a residence in Newtown, Mbekweni near Wellington.
BOY AND GIRL INITIALLY REPORTED MISSING
On Monday 12 October the three-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl were reported missing by their parents after they were last seen playing outside their residence in Newtown, Mbekweni.
“The search comprising SAPS and community members was unsuccessful last night until the discovery was made this morning,” said Colonel Andrè Traut.
According to Traut, the girl was also found in the vehicle and was admitted to the hospital for observation.
“A death inquest case docket has been registered and the exact cause of death is yet to be determined,” he added.
BODY OF FOUR-YEAR-OLD FOUND IN BOX IN SEPARATE INCIDENT
Acting Provincial Commissioner of the Northern Cape Major General Phiwe Mnguni has strongly condemned the murder of a four-year-old boy in Warrenton, Northern Cape. According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), the boy was found in a box covered with a blanket at Ikhutseng in Warrenton on Friday 9 October 2020.
It is alleged that the boy left his home to go to a local tuckshop on Friday at about 11:00 and did not return home. The boy was reported missing by the family at the local police station, whereby an intensive search was launched and led by Captain Fourie of Warrenton SAPS.
Police followed up on information and the body of the boy was found at the suspect’s house in Ikhutseng on Friday night.
“A 36-year-old suspect was arrested and a motive has not yet been established. The suspect is not related to the deceased,” said Brigadier Mohale Ramatseba.
The suspect was expected to appear before the Warrenton Magistrate’s Court on Monday 12 October 2020. In the meantime, police investigations into the matter are ongoing.
Apart from the four-year-old boy in Warrenton, a four-year-old girl in KwaMashu, KwaZulu-Natal was also reported missing, only to be found a few days later. It is alleged that on 23 September 2020, four-year-old Minenhle Sanelisiwe Mhlongo was left in the care of a relative while her mother went to work. When her mother returned home, she was informed that the little girl went missing and was nowhere to be found.
On 24 September — one day after the child’s disappearance — the body was found in the bushes near her home on Mvemvane Road at M Section in KwaMashu. A 15-year-old relative was arrested and later moved to a place of safety.
