A tired and shocked young Marcel Blandin de Chalain was reunited with his parents yesterday morning.
“I was so shocked, I couldn’t believe it was really Marcel,” said mother, Adri Blandin de Chalain.
According to Marcel, he only got scared once he realised they were in Johannesburg, and very far from home.
“I kept on telling him my dad and my mom are going to be angry and we must go back to Newcastle. He just said ‘Let’s just drop off this hiker then we will go back’,” said Marcel.
Marcel spoke of the ordeal with confidence, saying he had not realised how far Bloemfontein was from Newcastle, until the suspect, Johan de Beer had actually driven there.
“He lied to everyone we picked up,” said Marcel. “He would say he is from Jo’burg and then from Bethlehem.
He told me to just agree with everything he said, because that way it would be easier to get money to go back to Newcastle.”
Marcel said he didn’t think of running away because the suspect kept promising him they would be returning to Newcastle soon.
The full contents of his statement will be used as evidence against the suspect, in the spree of theft and dealing in stolen property, as well as kidnapping.
“He smoked stuff with the one hiker we picked up while we were driving,” said Marcel. “He was always in a hurry, and didn’t want to stay too long in one place.
The vehicle ran out of diesel several times, whereafter Marcel and the suspect would hike to the nearest town, beg for money for diesel, hike back to the vehicle and continue driving.
Marcel claimed the suspect had removed both number plates, replacing it with an NKR plate he had found in a bin in Bethlehem. This was the reason the vehicle was not spotted by patrolling police.
“He is not himself yet, he is still very quiet,” said Mrs Blandin de Chalain. “I have told him he is not allowed to go out to see his friends unless I take him there myself.”
“I knew he was a crook when his father told me of all the bad things he had done. I am just happy to be home,” concluded Marcel.
The full details of Marcel’s trip with a ‘crook’ will be released as soon as an official police statement can be retrieved by Newcastle SAPS.
