Forensic teams excavate KZN beach in search of victims in Gert van Rooyen case

Forensic officers are excavating a sand dune outfall pipeline where, new information suggests, at least one of the girl victim’s bodies may be buried.

Forensic service members on scene at Blythdale Beach during the excavation this afternoon. Picture: Orrin Singh

There was a hive of activity at Blythedale Beach in KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday afternoon as forensic officers excavated a sand dune outfall pipeline which, new information suggests, could be the burial site of at least one of the girls believed to have been kidnapped by Gert van Rooyen.

HeraldLIVE reports Van Rooyen and his girlfriend Joey Haarhoff were thought to have kidnapped and killed at least six girls between 1988 and 1989. Van Rooyen shot Haarhoff before killing himself.

The Zululand Observer was at the site of the excavation on Wednesday. Natasha Boucher, 43, the eldest sister of one of the six girls who went missing nearly 30 years ago, said: “I have hope – but I am a realist.”

Natasha Boucher, the eldest sister of Odette, has been at Blythdale Beach since Sunday. Picture: Dave Savides

Boucher spoke wistfully of the day her sister Odette, 11, went missing in 1989 while on her way to the public pool with another of the abducted girls.

Watch the interview here: