Seventeen-year-old Thomas Sithole from Hoërskool Driehoek has been reported missing following a private boat cruise outing on the Vaal River on Friday.

Sedibeng Ster reports that, according to information at its disposal, the teenager was last seen during the cruise with a group of friends, who claim they realised he was missing when the boat was returning to its destination.

Police search continues

Police have been searching the river for the missing teen for two days since the incident was reported.

While many questions remain unanswered, family members believe there may have been foul play in the disappearance of their son.

Friends and relatives have been gathered along the riverbanks at Abrahamsrust Resort, where police divers have been conducting search operations.

Family raises concerns

Speaking to the media during the search, Thomas’s older sister, Victoria, said the family last saw him when he left home to visit a friend.

“We last saw him on Tuesday when he left home,” she said.

Thomas’s father, Steven, said the versions of events relayed to the family do not add up, raising serious concerns.

“We feel there is something fishy. I got a call from my daughter’s friend, who was not part of the private cruise. We were shocked to hear because we never received a call from the group that he was on the cruise with. We only learnt of the incident on Saturday, around 08:00, while the incident happened on Friday. The boat driver said they opened a case at the Vanderbijlpark Police Station. However, when we went to the station, there was no such case opened,” he said.

“We are told different stories and that’s why we are not satisfied. We feel something is wrong,” he said.

His aunt, Malerato Kiangi, said they have a lot of questions with no answers. “We want to know where the boat they travelled on [is]. The fact that the family that they visited is not here to show remorse that our child is lost is concerning. There are a lot of stories, but we will leave it to the police to investigate.”

At the time of publishing, police had not responded to media inquiries.

• The article has been amended since it was first published to state that Sedibeng Ster spoke to aunt Malerato Kiangi and not Thekiso Radebe.

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