Africa-Press – South-Africa. The disappearance of German tourist Nick Frischke has opened up old wounds for the community of Hout Bay.
On Wednesday evening (1 March), people from across the Peninsula gathered on Hout Bay Beach to hold a candlelight vigil for Frischke.
Last seen on Tuesday 14 February, the 22-year-old has been the subject of an integrated search operation covering first Karbonkelberg and now Sentinel Peak – the area where he is suspected to have gone missing.
But as days turn into weeks – and with some of Frischke’s belongings found in the possession of five known offenders – hope of finding the young man alive is dwindling.
Seeing the large group of people sombrely standing in a circle on Wednesday evening, you couldn’t help but be reminded of a similar gathering held four years ago for Ukranian businessman Ivan Ivanov.
The husband and father was robbed and stabbed to death at East Fort above Chapman’s Peak Drive in July 2019.
A month later, community members showed up in their numbers at the murder site to attend the ninth day memorial service held for Ivanov.
Hout Bay NSRI, a Western Cape Government Health EMS rescue squad drone team, an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) rescue squad trail search and rescue team, a Police K9 search and rescue team, WSAR (Wilderness Search and Rescue) and WSAR K9 search and rescue team have been scouring the Hangberg trail between Hout Bay and Sandy Bay since he went missing.
Volunteers from the community were allowed to join in the search from Monday.
Brent Thomas, a local tour guide and owner of Karbonkelberg Tourism, has been crisscrossing Sentinel Peak every day this week, searching for Frischke.
Come this Saturday 4 March, various hiking groups will be meeting at Fish on the Rocks in Hout Bay at 08:00 to assist in the search.
“We face reality, and I think his parents have also come to terms that he has passed away. Why we are coming out in full swing on Saturday is because we won’t just search the mountains, but amongst the homes as well because there is lots of soft ground among the homes and there are a lot of homes that are unoccupied on these mountains,” says Thomas.
Fareed Hoosen of Knight International Tactical Protection Services joined in the integrated search operation last week. He says quite a lot of people are still hopeful.
“A lot of us who do this sort of work know that it has been a long time now; the chances of finding someone alive are slim but it might still be there.”
Hoosen says people are searching frantically.
“We are checking, double-checking, maybe we passed a spot and I overlooked something, you will come by and check again. It is a continual back and forth.”
He says Lieutenant Colonel Jerome Syster, the Station Commander of Hout Bay Police, has been up on the mountain, searching every day.
“I know a lot of people lambaste the police, they say the police don’t do enough. The colonel, the captain, all the guys have been up here, physically searching themselves. Which is good, he also feels it. He is a father himself. I am a dad. I can’t imagine what it must be like if my kid went missing, in another country as well.”
Hoosen says being part of the search with the community of Hangberg, greater Hout Bay, the police and others have again shown the sense of community in Hout Bay.
“If you remember a few years back, the murder of Ivan Ivanov, the community came together then in a big way as well which is the same thing that is happening here now. Tragedies bring people together. You have the community in Hangberg, people in the Valley, we have got people out here from the township in Imizamo Yethu who have joined the search as well. Just random people.”
As the search continues, Hoosen hopes for closure.“But let’s just hope, you have to hope. It is a big mountain, there are lots of areas you could have missed, it is a big area to search.”
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
