VANDERBIJLPARK – Seventeen-year-old Thomas Sithole from Hoërskool Driehoek has been reported missing following a private boat cruise outing in the Vaal River on January 9.
According to information at our disposal, the teenager was last seen during the cruise with a group of friends who claim to have realised he was missing when the boat was returning to its destination.
Police have been on a two-day search in the river for the missing teen since the incident was reported.
While there are many unanswered questions relating to the incident, family members believe there was foul play in the disappearance of their son.
Friends and relatives of the missing boy have been on the riverbanks at the Abrahamsrust Resort, where police divers have been conducting an operation.
Speaking to the media during the search, Thomas’s older sister, Victoria Sithole, said they last saw him when he left to visit a friend.
“We last saw him on Tuesday when he left home,” she said.
Thomas’ father, Steven Sithole said the stories relayed to the family of what may have transpired don’t add up, which raises concerns.
“We feel there is something fishy. I got a call from my daughter’s friend, who was not part of the private cruise. We were shocked to hear because we never received a call from the group that he was on the cruise with. We only learnt of the incident on Saturday, around 08:00, while the incident happened on Friday. The boat driver said they opened a case at the Vanderbijlpark Police Station. However, when we went to the station, there was no such case opened,” he said.
“We are told different stories, and that’s why we are not satisfied. We feel something is wrong,” he said.
His aunt, Malerato Kiangi, said, “We got a lot of questions with no answers. We want to know where the boat they travelled on. The fact that the family that they visited is not here to show remorse that our child is lost is concerning. There are a lot of stories, but we will leave it to the police to investigate.”
At the time of publishing this story, police had not responded to media inquiries sent to them.
This is a developing story.
