UPDATE: Missing child – Pair allegedly spotted in Bloemfontein

A report from a police captain in Bloemfontein has led investigators to believe the suspect and the allegedly kidnapped child were seen at Mimosa Mall in Bloemfontein, Free State earlier this morning.

Statements are currently being taken from a couple who reported to police they were hitch hiking on the road between Bethlehem and Bloemfontein. They claim they were picked up by the suspect, Johan de Beer and Marcel, in a white Ford Ranger light duty vehicle. It is unconfirmed where exactly the hikers were picked up.

A journalist from the Newcastle Advertiser along with Newcastle SAPS Captain Flip Claassen last night co-ordinated search efforts in Bethlehem, after a reported sighting.

Further media reports have suggested child slavery syndicates, and have indicated the possibility that Marcel could have escaped a number of times, but had chosen to leave home freely.

Captain Claassen agreed that such accusations were baseless, and the most important thing was locating the child, and then proceeding with an investigation into the actual events surrounding his disappearance.

“The most important thing is finding Marcel,” said Captain Claassen.

Investigators are currently working on retrieving surveillance footage from the Mimosa Mall, in an attempt to verify the sighting.

Marcel was last positively identified in Elandslaagte near Ladysmith in Northern KwaZulu-Natal on Monday night at between 8 and 8.30pm.

Stay tuned for more updates.

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