Family marks another birthday for missing mom

The police have offered a R50 000 reward for any news about Boltman

ANOTHER birthday celebration without Raymonde Boltman has opened fresh wounds for her family as they still have no closure since she went missing two years ago.

Boltman would have celebrated her 26th birthday on Wednesday.

Still tormented by her disappearance, her family vowed they would never give up until they knew what had happened to her.

“Last night (Wednesday) was very emotional and difficult for the family. We dearly miss her, even when she was still around we would celebrate her birthday by having a family supper. We don’t know what to think,” said her sister, Genevieve Boltman.

The Mitchells Plain mother was dropped off at the Clocktower bus stop in Lentegeur, where she was supposed to catch a bus to Elsies River where she worked in a factory.

But Boltman never arrived for work.

That was the last time she was seen.

Last Friday police offered a R50 000 reward for any information on Boltman’s disappearance.

Police spokesperson Sinathi Joni said Boltman was of average build and height, weighed 65kg and had black hair, black eyes, a flat nose, thin upper lip, thick lower lip and a scar on her forehead.

“The public is urged to make contact with Philippi SAPS at 021 377 5042 or Crime Stop at 08600 10111.”

Genevieve Boltman said: “We still have faith that one day we will find her alive and unharmed. Even finding her body would give us some closure. Her daughter is two years old now and stays with my mother and every child needs and deserves a mother’s love. We are coping because of the community support and love. We also support each other and are taking one step at a time.”

Matthew Ohlsson, who went missing when he was nine, would have celebrated his 30th birthday last Saturday.

His disappearance prompted his mother, Michelle Ohlsson, to establish the Concerned Parents for Missing Children – an organisation which for 12 years yielded 90 success stories in 400 cases of missing children.

Withdrawal of government funding has forced her to shut down the organisation.