What happened to Glenn Wood?
The Lost Boys of Bird Island; the notorious paedophile Gert van Rooyen; and the disappearance of the fourteen-year-old Glenn Wood from Heather Park in George...
These are three seemingly different scenarios, but according to Wood's sister, Glynnis Hartwig, there is more to this than meets the eye.
Thirty years ago, on 19 July 1988, Glenn Wood, a learner at York High, vanished from his family home. The man who was tried and convicted of Glenn's murder, based on a testimony he gave after being incarcerated for the attempted murder of his girlfriend, has been released from prison in 2007.
The convicted might have been sentenced for the boy's murder, but Glenn's body has never been found. "I am not expecting to find him alive, but where is the body?" asks Glynnis (she prefers being called by her first name). She is certain that the convicted was not the only one involved in her brother's disappearance. "I am not saying he was not involved, but I think that is only part of the story," says Glynnis. The recent media storm following the publication of the controversial book The Lost Boys of Bird Island sparked her interest and she would like to see Glenn's murder reinvestigated.
The book by authors Mark Minnie and Chris Steyn details allegations that former apartheid minister Magnus Malan was part of a paedophile network. Three former National Party ministers were allegedly central figures in a paedophile ring that operated during the apartheid era. According to the book Malan, then minister of environmental affairs, John Wiley and another minister (who is still alive) were involved, as well as Dave Allen, a prominent businessman from Port Elizabeth. Young teenage boys were allegedly taken to Bird Island in Algoa Bay near Port Elizabeth, where they were molested and raped, among other things.
Wiley was acquainted with the Wood family. Glenn's father, Ian Wood, was a sawmill manager and received forestry awards from Wiley on different occasions. "On these occasions Glenn was present," says Glynnis.
The vehicle and the clairvoyants
The day Glenn Wood disappeared from his home in Heather Park, a neighbour saw a vehicle in front of the house shortly after 15:00. A man apparently knocked on the front door and left. A friend of Glenn paid him a visit later the same afternoon, but in an interview with Carole Charliewood of Carte Blanche in 1988, Glenn's father said Glenn wasn't home when he arrived home at about 16:50. Watch the interview at www. georgeherald.com.
According to Glynnis, the convicted said he spoke to Glenn on a previous occasion and offered to find him parts from his brother's factory which manufactured radio-controlled airplanes.
"It was a big interest of my brother," said Glynnis. "Glenn asked our dad for money the night before he disappeared, saying he needed a part for his aeroplane. However, the information is something the convicted could have fabricated, because the case was widely publicised. It would have been very easy for him to place himself in the picture through information gathered in the media. It is established that he failed numerous lie detector tests. He is a pathological liar. He couldn't even give us the correct place where Glenn's body was supposedly dumped. Four places were dug up, miles from each other. Wilderness sand dunes, parts of George Golf Course, a spot in Sedgefield and one in the Outeniqua mountain." Shortly after Glenn's disappearance a clairvoyant contacted the police and said she could help them to find Glenn. The clairvoyant, Beverley Rhodes, then said Glenn was being kept near water where there were bushes and trees. "There is a hut nearby with a wooden floor and bags against the walls and floor. If you stand with your back to the sea you will look directly at the mountains," she said. The help of three other clairvoyants were sought by the magazine Huisgenoot. All of them said Glenn was near water and trees.
A 'nest of child molesters'
Only a few months later a businessman from Port Elizabeth, the regional manager of a wellknown national furniture group, appeared in the George Magistrate's Court. He was accused of sodomising two 16-year-old boys between June and October that same year. He was not asked to plead.
According to an article from the George
Herald's archives (10 November 1988) by Marinda Olwagen, a series of arrests took place all over the country from October to November 1988, after the police exposed a network of child molesters.
At the time a well-known actor and a radio personality had already appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on charges of indecent assault and the possession of pornography. According to the police these arrests were "only the tip of the iceberg". They said many arrests could be expected before Christmas 1988, especially in the arts, performing arts and communications circles.
Social media and closure
A recent post on Facebook from
Glynnis Hartwig meant for close family in remembrance of her brother, reached a wide audience with more than 14 000 shares, 3 500 reactions and 1 300 comments.
"I wasn't expecting this, it is phenomenal," said Glynnis. Her hope is that someone might come forward with information that would crack the case wide open. Her post reads: "I can't help but wonder with Facebook and social media today if somebody, somewhere has information they never shared in 1988 or afterwards... or may have shared in a pub somewhere in the world..."
Meanwhile Glenn's parents hold on to the hope that they might find closure in their lifetime. "My mom and dad are frail. Every day of my dad's life, he has been trying to solve this case," said Glynnis. "He said to me the other day, 'Glynnie, somewhere in the world someone knows what happened to Glenn'."
Glenn disappeared on a Tuesday, He was looking forward to having his braces out the Friday. "This is also a reason why he would not have run away," said Glynnis.