Couple finds lost cellphone on wild goose chase

It was a rollercoaster ride for a Melville couple as they set out on a quest to find their missing cellphone.

Urs and Asmahan Wernli shared their happy ending, hoping to spread some positivity within the community.

The couple has been living on the South Coast permanently since last year, after relocating from Saudi Arabia.

They recently decided to visit Umzumbe beach where they had a spectacular day enjoying all that the beautiful beach has to offer.

“It’s a very nice, safe and clean beach. We really enjoyed our time there. It definitely lives up to its rating,” said Asmahan.

Once home, Asmahan reached for her cellphone only to discover it was nowhere in the house.

After frantically searching everywhere, the couple realised it must have fallen on the beach.

Asmahan immediately wanted to go back even after husband Urs told her it would be a waste of time.

“The typical mindset in these cases is to forget about it, as you will not find it again,” Urs explained.

When they got back to the beach, hardly anyone was around and the lifeguard office was already closed.

Feeling hopeless they returned home and Asmahan contacted Apple hoping they could trace her iPhone, to no avail.

The next day the couple returned to the beach largely due to Asmahan’s hope and positivity that she would find her phone.

Once there they spoke to the lifeguards who told them that a gentleman did in fact leave a message saying he picked up an iPhone.

The Good Samaritan (whose name unfortunately is unknown to the couple at this point) turned out to be an ex-lifeguard who now operates a taxi business in Hibberdene.

He insisted on only returning the phone to the owner and so a car guard from the beach helped Urs and Asmahan to arrange a pickup with this man, as he knew him.

The car guard directed them to a shop in Pumula and made them wait there while he went to look for the man as he lived in that area.

Half an hour later and there was no sign of the man or the car guard. At this point the couple began to fear they might have been scammed.

The car guard eventually returned after failing to find the man.

“We took him back to Hibberdene and he said he would contact us if he locates him,” said Urs.

The car guard called back around 16:30 saying he found the man with the phone.

The three then approached the man only for him to say he did not have the cellphone and that it was with his brother.

“Alarm bells went off at this point, and it was getting dark. We began feeling nervous but nonetheless followed him into Port Shepstone to find his brother,” Urs explained.

They arrived at what they believed to be a township. “The conditions were shocking to us, there was no electricity and it was very dark. We waited for about 20 minutes and the taxi driver came back to us with the cellphone. He did not even ask for any money in return, just for my wife to check her phone.”

Asmahan’s phone is valued around R30 000, and they were surprised that the men expected nothing in return.

“They could have easily sold it or even asked us for more money, but they didn’t. There really are good and honest people living here,” the couple said.

The experience taught the couple to change their mindset. “Do not judge people based off what’s on the outside because not everyone is the same. There are really young and honest people out there who are willing to help,” said Urs.

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