Suspects arrested after body of pensioner found
TWO suspects found in possession of Barrydale pensioner Erna Gericke’s car will appear in the local magistrate’s court on a charge of theft of a motor vehicle.
Gericke’s body was found after she went for a walk and did not return.
The two were found in possession of Gericke’s car which she had parked at Rondomskrik, a popular parking spot for hikers. Gericke, 66, went for a walk at about 2pm on Sunday. She was reported missing by her husband when she did not return home at about 6pm.
Police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie said a search by various police units and community members began soon afterwards.
“Between 2am and 3am on Monday, members of the search party, that included the missing person’s daughter, found Gericke in a badly injured state approximately 5-6km along the Waterfall Hiking Trail,” said Pojie.
He said paramedics declared her dead. An autopsy was expected to be done yesterday, to determine the cause of death.
Dutch Reformed Church reverend Olivier Muller said Gericke was found on a footpath to the falls, alleging that the person who examined her expressed that it was probably an accident.
“Currently, no foul play is suspected,” said Pojie.
He said police followed up on information about the her car, which was no longer at the parking spot.
“Members noticed possible signs of a break-in which led members to believe the car was possibly stolen. Through the vigilance of farm watch and rural safety structures, information was passed on about its whereabouts.”
Pojie said that on further investigation, the police and the community found the car abandoned behind a hill near the Tradouwhoek with the right front window shattered.
“Subsequent to the find, two suspects aged 18 and 24 from a farm in the area were arrested. The spare keys were found in the possession of one of the suspects,” he said.
Charles Payne, chairperson of the Barrydale Crime Watch and Community Police Forum, said he was not going to contradict the statement from the police because there was an ongoing investigation.
Payne said yes, Gericke did go for a walk on one of the hiking trails in the mountain towards the waterfall after lunch time on Sunday, and her body was found in a “very bad state” in the early hours of Monday.
Swellendam Municipality’s senior communications officer Bianca McKechnie said the scene was still under investigation and until the police had confirmed information for public release, they could not comment on the matter.