THE family of Mitchel Adam is still coming to terms with his death and are also dealing with ransom calls from a person claiming to know about his whereabouts. Adam’s body was found a few hours after he was reported missing – he was reported missing on Saturday afternoon (July 27), and he was confirmed dead later that night after his car was found at a car-accident scene.

Adam was last seen leaving a well-known late-night establishment in Gillitts on Friday night, leading to the early hours of Saturday morning.

Also read: Steps to follow when reporting a missing person

Taking to social media about this incident, private investigator Brad Nathanson said Adam was last seen getting into his car around midnight before heading home to Shongweni. While the hunt continued, the family received a call from a man who claimed to know Adam’s whereabouts.

“A friend of his office got BNI involved on Saturday afternoon, but it was as if Mitchel’s vehicle had simply vanished. A search along the route/s he may have travelled yielded nothing, and then, at around 17:00, the second-worst call a parent can receive was from a man who identified himself as ‘Sipho’ – he told the family representative that ‘they’ had Mitchel and his car, which they described with all the information that would have been available on social media via flyers sent out by friends and family of Mitchel. How do you know [what to do] as a parent, especially when this call has brought you hope? Sipho warned the family: ‘No police’.

“When asked for proof of life, Sipho told the family that Mitchel was in another car, away from his phone. Sipho wanted R30 000 for the safe return of Mitchel. There were lots of threats by Sipho as to what they were going to do with Mitchel if the family didn’t pay. Sipho toyed with them. Unfortunately for Sipho and sadly for the Mitchel family, at around 22:00, they received the worst call a parent can receive – this was the one to say that their son had been involved in a car accident and his wounds were fatal,” Nathanson explained.

Also read: Missing Cowies Hill man Leo Govender found dead

Family representative Lynesh Ranjip said the family has been a wreck since the day Adam went missing. “It has been hard for everyone who is family and close friends. He was a loving person who took care of his people. He had a lot planned for his life,” he said.

Ranjip said the pain lingers as they still receive calls from ‘Sipho’ who seemingly isn’t aware that Adam was confirmed dead.

“The last call we received from him was on Monday, August 5, and he was still making demands and threats. We have reported the case to the police who said they are investigating,” he said.

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