MBOMBELA – “It is very sad and it is hard, but we finally have closure,” Mr Nico Burger said after receiving his sister’s death certificate, which indicated that the missing-person case of Lowvelder Ms Viki Burger had finally came to a close.
The Burgers were sad but relieved when Viki’s case finally had an outcome after more than three weeks of uncertainty. Lowvelder previously reported on Viki’s disappearance on March 31. Her last known destination was the route between Umhlanga and Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal. Police were alerted about her disappearance, but it was her friend Mr Michael Cowling who led a search party that made the breakthrough in the case.
Cowling arranged a 15-man search party who split up to look for Viki’s Mini Cooper that had also been reported missing. When a burnt-out Mini Cooper was found in the Stanger Police Station’s yard, Cowling inspected the wreckage and dug through the rubble surrounding it. He salvaged bits and pieces of the car’s shattered number plate, which he pieced together. “Only the last seven digits that match that of Viki’s car can be noticed,” Nico had previously said.
After having confirmed Viki’s death, Nico remarked that closure enabled the family to arrange a memorial service for her. “We want to provide her loved ones with the opportunity to say goodbye in a way that she would have wanted it. For us, this is the end of this ordeal of uncertainty. We are all very sad to have lost her.”
Many friends have expressed their sympathies with the Burger family and their sorrow at losing Viki. Ms Stevie Jane Engelbrecht described Viki as a force to be reckoned with. “She will be sorely missed!” she added on a Facebook comment. Another comment by Ms Priscilla Janse van Rensburg described Viki as a blessing. These comments were posted on Nico’s wall.
The memorial service for Viki (Roxx) Burger will be held at the NG Moedergemeente on Monday April 27 at 10:00. The church is located at 36 Bell Street in Mbombela.
On April 14, Lowvelder reported:
MBOMBELA – It may still take weeks for friends and family of missing person Ms Viki Burger to have any form of closure after a vehicle, believed to be hers, was found burnt out in a police scrapyard in Kwa-Zulu Natal.
Ms Viki Burger was the third person from Mbombela to be reported as missing in two weeks. “She was last seen on March 31,” her brother, Mr Nico Burger, confirmed. Viki was traveling from Umhlanga to Richards Bay on her way back from a cruise. After nobody heard from her on the 31st, the police was alerted.
It was Viki’s friend Mr Michael Cowling – originally from Nelspruit currently living in Durban – who arranged for a 15-man search party who came across a startling lead that many believe may bring the case to a close.
On Friday, Cowling and 15 friends split up to look for Viki’s black and cream Mini Cooper that was also reported missing. They scouted the area between Durban and Hibberdene. Some of them looked in the Umhloti-Ballito region. Others looked in the Tongaat-Richards Bay area for any signs of Viki.
A burnt-out Mini Cooper was found in the Stanger police station’s yard in Kwa-Zulu Natal. “The police have not been able to confirm the vehicle’s ownership yet,” Nico confirms. “Michael attended to the police station and asked if he could look at the wreck. He dug through the rubble dumped next to it and managed to salvage bits and pieces of the car’s shattered number plate. Only the last seven digits that match that of Viki’s car can be noticed. The driver’s body which we presume must be Viki’s is at the mortuary next to the police station.”
“The processes that need to be followed to confirm what has happened to Viki and her car will take time as the police needs to close and still solve the case they opened for the accident,” Nico says. “Although the status of the case cannot be officially confirmed, we have gained some form of closure and will be able to confirm the outcome of it all as soon as we know more detail.”
Read previous report:
Update – Viki Burger missing person case
