Mountain mission to recover murder victim’s body
Helping to recover the victim of an alleged crime entailed team effort.
Members from search and rescue units recently hiked six kilometres, over four hours, to locate and retrieve a man’s body at the foot of a mountain.
Jabulani Gumede (67) was found five days after he was reported missing. Two men, aged 43 and 44 and a woman, aged 34, were subsequently arrested.
Port Shepstone and Durban Search and Rescue units with Umhlali K9, Durban K9, and IPSS Search and Rescue were called to the Maphumulo Saps area in the Ilembe District, to assist in the high-angle body recovery.
Gumede was apparently kidnapped from his home in Maphumulo after a dispute, allegedly murdered, and his body was thrown down a 100m steep embankment which rolled over the mountain with an 80 metre drop.
Gumede’s body was inaccessible via a rope rescue system from the top due to hazards and obstacles which posed a danger to the rescue units.
So instead, they hiked through tough, rocky terrain to retrieve the body.
According to a report published by Caxton Network News, iLembe Cluster police spokesperson Captain Alex Thomson said the family found a pool of blood and missing items at Gumede’s home.
“Although initial searches by the K9 Search and Rescue teams did not yield any results, a police tip-off led to the swift arrest of the first suspect,” said Thomson.
All three have been charged with murder, although the motive is still unknown
Earlier this year, members from Port Shepstone’s Search and Rescue received the runner-up award in the category of medium-risk team of the year at the annual Saps National Excellence Awards in Midrand.
The unit was also praised for attending to 431 callouts, 131 recoveries and 161 rescues in a year.
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