Parktown 13-year-old schoolboy 'missing for hours' before alarm was raised

It appears activities may have continued as per normal on Wednesday at the Parktown Boys’ orientation camp in North West after the disappearance of Enoch Mpianza.

The last time 13-year-old Enoch Mpianza was seen was moments before a homemade river raft overturned during a water activity on an orientation camp at a lodge near Brits in the North West, police said.

The grade 8 pupil’s body was found on Friday morning.

Police said it was believed he had landed in the Crocodile River when the home-made raft that he and other pupils were on had capsized on Wednesday.

Col Adele Myburgh said Mpianza was with a group of about 12 pupils on the raft when it overturned.

Police divers, who were part of a search team, discovered the 13year-old’s body about 9.45am on Friday, about 3km from where he was allegedly last seen on

Wednesday,” Myburgh said.

“Mpianzi was reported as missing on Thursday and police immediately activated a search team consisting of police divers and a dog unit, who searched until it became dark. The search continued this morning until his body was recovered.

“Initial information indicated that the boy was participating in a team-building exercise, where learners were divided into groups to build rafts and then placed them in the river, to drift about 100m-150m downstream.

The current was very strong and at some stage the learners went under water as they were drifting. During roll-call by the teachers, it was realised that Mpianzi was missing,” Myburgh said.

She added that a case of inquest was under investigation by police to determine the cause and circumstances surrounding the death.

“[My son] said that they went hiking in the afternoon [after Mpianza had disappeared],” said a parent of another grade 8 pupil, who said his son had shared a room with Mpianza at the camp.

“[He said] he didn’t see him [during the hike] but he didn’t think much of it,” the parent added, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“It was only when they got back to the room that it sounded an alarm that the boy had not been seen for hours,” said the father of the traumatised boy.

It was not immediately clear whether the pupils had immediately alerted the schoolteachers about Mpianza not returning to the room.

Initial information indicated that the boy was participating in a team-building exercise, where learners were divided into groups to build rafts