Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Hope to find son who hitch-hiked 19 years ago
SKELETAL remains have proven not to be those of Max Marcelino Bruintjies, who disappeared 19 years ago at the age of 9 while attempting to hitch-hike to his family in Hermanus.
Max would be 28 today and his mother, Geraldine Swartz, is hopeful he is alive.
He went missing on August 9, 2003 while hitch-hiking along a road in Hawston.
Swartz had been in Mount Pleasant in Hermanus, believing Max was in the care of her mother.
Swartz, 50, said there was a misunderstanding between her mother and herself, each believing the child was in the others’ care.
Last year, police informed the family that skeletal remains of a child had been found at a building site and DNA had been obtained from Swartz.
The police informed Swartz that the remains did not belong to Max.
“I left the cabin the Friday to look for Max’s step-father and he was in the care of the people there,” she said.
“I went to Mount Pleasant in Hermanus. I had peace of mind believing he was in my mother’s care because the two of them had an incredible bond. While my mother believed Max was with me.”
A few days later, Swartz said she immediately knew something was wrong when she called home and found that Max had not attended school for two days.
“I left a message with my cousin that they must bring Max to me. That Tuesday, I decided to go home and when I arrived there I immediately knew something was not right because Max’s school clothing was still there.
“My mother would have opened up my door to get Max’s school clothing and I was informed he was not in school for two days after speaking to his friends who attended Hawston Primary school with him when he was in Grade 1.”
Swartz immediately reported him missing and began questioning family members about when they had seen him last.
Swartz learnt via a friend of Max that he wanted to travel to Hermanus.
“Friends and an uncle said they saw him hitch-hiking but no one stopped.
Why didn’t they stop and give him a scolding and a hiding and send him back home? A friend who was the same age, said Max had asked him to join him on the hitch-hike but he was too scared and Max went alone.”
Swartz then turned to the Western Cape Missing Persons Unit (WCMPU), which drafted a poster of Max.
She said she had new hope when police visited her home last year after skeletal remains were found and had visited the station on numerous occasions for answers.
“The file is always full of dust, they would always ask me if I knew anything but the police, they should be investigating it.
“He was my first-born child and I have no closure. I still believe he is out there,” she said.
“I will always remain hopeful that I will find answers one day. I have a 15-year-old and a 12-year-old whom Max has never met and there are two siblings on his father’s side who he has never seen.”
Police spokesperson, Captain Frederick van Wyk said the search continued for Max.
Candice van der Rheede of the WCMPU did not respond to queries about the case but confirmed they had made a missing persons poster for him.