- More than a week after she disappeared from a Bergvliet home on Wednesday morning 3 January, Saskia Pofadder (17) was found unharmed on Friday morning 12 January.
- The recovery comes after Gender-Based Violence activist Lucinda Evans spearheaded efforts to spread the word about her disappearance on Tuesday 9 January.
- The circumstances surrounding Pofadder’s disappearance are under investigation.
More than a week after she disappeared from a Bergvliet home on Wednesday morning 3 January, involving an extensive search mission for Saskia Pofadder (17), safety stakeholders and the community at large breathed a deep sigh of relief to learn that the teen was found unharmed on Friday morning 12 January.
This was confirmed by Western Cape police spokesperson Sgt Wesley Twigg. He stated: “Saskia Poffadder was found safe and unharmed and has been reunited with her family.”
The recovery comes after Gender-Based Violence activist Lucinda Evans spearheaded efforts to spread the word about her disappearance on Tuesday 9 January.
Pofadder was reported to have gone missing in Bergvliet following an alleged disagreement with her aunt.
She was last seen in Dreyersdsal Road according to Evans, who, in a video on social media, appealed to residents and safety role-players to monitor available camera footage in the area to fast-track search efforts.
Early on Friday morning, Evans posted on Facebook with praise and thanks to all role-players that Pofadder had been found.
She told People’s Post officials informed her that Pofadder was located safely shortly after 02:00. “A huge lesson again for us as parents, as child protectors; is to ensure we know who the people are in our children’s life, school and sports[are…] start asking questions[…] grooming can happen so easy and we all know what grooming does [happen]. It ruins a young child’s life and many children are scared adults today.”
The Western Cape police spokesperson was asked whether other arrests or charges would be added to the ongoing investigation. However, this remained unanswered by officials.
Twigg confirmed that the circumstances surrounding Pofadder’s disappearance are under investigation.
