THREE weeks after Wentworth fisherman Dominic Saunders disappeared, his family disputes police claims that underwater searches were conducted for five days.

Every day that passes without finding Saunders deepens his family’s anguish as they desperately search for answers and hope to give him a dignified burial.

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The 44-year-old Wentworth fisherman disappeared while swimming at Treasure Beach on October 5. Three weeks later, his body remains missing, leaving his family desperate for answers and questioning whether everything possible has been done to find him.

His brother, Clint Regan Leverton, and sister, Melanie Amanda Duval, dispute police claims that underwater searches were conducted for five consecutive days, insisting that their requests for diving assistance have not been met.

“His body has not been recovered and my family has not had closure,” said Duval.

Saunders’ friend, Jermaine Samuels, who was with him when he disappeared, said he had been searching along the shoreline, but had not witnessed police divers entering the water.

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“Not even once did the police go into the water to conduct an underwater search. We are always there looking for my friend,” he said.

Samuels said police arrived at the beach after he and his wife reported the suspected drowning. He added that he had not been interviewed by police since the day Saunders disappeared.

He suspects Saunders’ body may be trapped beneath rocks because it never resurfaced.

Leverton said the family had contacted the police, metro police and eThekwini Municipality to request diving assistance.

“The dogs appeared to have picked up a human scent in the water, but nobody seemed willing to dive at the spot where the dogs were reacting, which is where my brother drowned,” he said.

He added that shoreline, aerial and drone searches had failed to locate Saunders.

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“My brother has several tattoos that could help with his identification. All we want is to find his body so that we can give him a dignified burial,” said Duval.

National Sea Rescue Institute spokesperson, Craig Lambinon, said the search had been suspended, but this did not necessarily mean efforts to find Dominic had ended. He said the organisation continued communicating with the family and understood the difficult time they were experiencing.

However, Colonel Khetha Sibiya from Wentworth police station, dismissed the family’s claims, maintaining that police divers had conducted underwater searches for five consecutive days.

As the conflicting accounts remain unresolved, Saunders’ family continues to wait in anguish, hoping for the answers they need to bring their loved one home and finally say goodbye.

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