Manhunt starts after Krugersdorp murders

As an eerie murder pattern brews in the West Rand town of Krugersdorp, police are on a massive manhunt for missing teenager Shannon Lombard, 19, who disappeared last Friday.

Lombard’s disappearance comes hot on the heels of the grisly discovery of murdered Krugersdorp Remax real estate agent Hanle Lategan, who disappeared on Monday evening, having been due to meet a client, The Citizen reported.

Police are now investigating the deaths of three people in the area who all went missing and died in similar circumstances within weeks. On Tuesday, police said they were not ruling out a link between the murders.

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Two weeks ago, insurance broker Anthony Scholefield, 64, was found dead in the boot of his car after he headed for a meeting with a client in the area. A week later, the body of 29-year-old Kevin McAlpine, another insurance broker, was found by his family, who tracked his car down after he, too, failed to return from a meeting with a client.

Lategan’s death makes this the third mysterious death in only three weeks. But Krugersdorp police believe that Lombard, reportedly a criminology student, was still alive at the time of going to print.

The investigating officer working on the murder cases, Colonel Verna van Staden, said she was also working on the missing teenager’s case and police have not linked her disappearance to the murders.

“She is still alive,” Van Staden said, without giving any further details.

Following Lategan’s death, Remax CEO Adrian Goslett said his company was still reeling from the shock.

He shared an e-mail with The Citizen that he sent out after hearing the news: “I can’t begin to express my sorrow at this horrific incident. When something like this happens we are all affected by it, but I would ask that, instead of speculating as to what happened and who may have perpetrated this heinous crime, you instead channel your energy into holding her family in your hearts, minds and prayers.”

Goslett, who has since spoken to Lategan’s husband, Andre, said he was still badly shaken up. Goslett says Lategan was due to meet with a client on the evening she went missing.

A colleague of hers, Krugersdorp estate agent Amanda Coetzee, said Lategan had left one client and was on her way to meet another when she disappeared.

– Caxton News Service