Missing Witpoortjie boy found

A young boy from Witpoortjie who went missing from his family home in Hulley Street on April 22, has been found safely.

According to his mother Cynthia Moyo, she was home alone with her 15-year-old son Melusi Omega, when she asked him to fetch a blanket from the washing line in their complex. The boy went outside and that was the last time she saw him. This was at about 18:00 on April 22.

“About 10 minutes later, I realised that he had not returned. I looked in the bedrooms and then went outside, but he was nowhere to be found.”

She initially suspected that he had maybe wandered off as young boys do, but at around 19:00, Cynthia became worried, as this is not typical behaviour for Melusi.

• Read the initial article here: Join search for missing Witpoortjie boy

“I called his stepfather, who was still working, and asked him to come home.”

Bishop Dube arrived home at around 20:00, and the young boy had still not turned up.

“We went to our complex caretaker who agreed to check the CCTV footage for us,” says Cynthia.

The CCTV footage shows young Melusi near the gate of the complex speaking to someone in an upstairs flat. His demeanour seems skittish, almost afraid. A neighbour then asks him to carry some shopping for her, which he does, returning to the gate afterwards.

Melusi appears to once again be speaking to someone in an upstairs flat. He then looks around the corner as if to check that no one is looking, before running out the gate and down Hulley Street in the direction of Pick n Pay.

According to his mother, this was unusual behaviour for Melusi.

“He is a reserved, quiet boy,” she says. “We fetched him from his grandparents in Zimbabwe in August last year, since he was struggling in school, and we thought we could help him better if he were here with us. He barely has any friends here, except for his cousins that live in Grobler Park, where he would often visit, but he would never go there without first asking permission.”

His uncle in Grobler Park confirmed that Melusi did not go to their house.

The family opened a missing persons case with the Roodepoort police and pleaded for the community to help them find Melusi. Help came in from all sides, and Melusi’s photo was circulated far and wide on community WhatsApp groups.

Melusi was finally found in Swaneville.

According to stepdad, Bishop, he was doing his usual rounds as a delivery driver when someone called and told him his son had been seen. He drove to the identified spot not far from his client, when he came across Melusi sitting at the side of the road. He was still dressed in the T-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops he left home in.

Mother Cynthia has expressed her extreme relief at having her son back.

“I am so happy that he is back. We are still not sure why he left, or how he ended up in Swaneville, but we will get to the bottom of it in due time.”

The family has expressed their thanks to the police and community members who supported them in this difficult time.