NSRI Hout Bay has been called to join the ongoing search for a German tourist Nick Frischke, 22, who went missing last week.
According to Spencer Oldham, NSRI Hout Bay station commander, a briefing, commanded by the Police Dive Unit, was held at the Hout Bay rescue station early yesterday morning (Tuesday 21 February).
He said it was suspected that Frischke had gone missing on the Hangberg trail between Hout Bay and Sandy Bay.
“Two NSRI Hout Bay rescue craft, accompanied by police divers, (was) launched and are conducting search efforts from the seaside along the Karbonkelberg,” said Oldham.
A Western Cape Government Health EMS rescue squad drone team, an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) rescue squad trail search and rescue team, a Police K9 search and rescue team, WSAR (Wilderness Search and Rescue) members and WSAR K9 search and rescue were deployed yesterday.
READ | Family ‘living a nightmare’ as police search Hout Bay for German tourist still missing after a week
Colonel Andrè Traut, Provincial Commander, Media Communication, Western Cape, today confirmed that the disappearance of Frischke is still under investigation.
“He remains to be found. Part of this investigation is a full-scale search by the police and other role players where all avenues are pursued in a bid to find the missing person,” says Traut.
Asked whether NSRI search efforts in the area continued today, Craig Lambinon, head of NSRI communications, told People’s Post that the NSRI was being requested to assist from time to time.
On Saturday 18 February, the police issued a statement, requesting the public’s assistance to trace Frishke.
According to the statement, the 22-year-old had arrived in South Africa on Monday 6 February.
A resident at a local Air B&B in Pinelands, Frischke left the premises on foot on Tuesday 14 February at around 10:00 “and never returned”.
Later reports placed him at a local store in the V&A Waterfront.
“It is imperative to note that Nick does not speak English very well,” the police statement read.
Yesterday’s search of the Hangberg trail brought back disturbing memories of Ivan Ivanov’s murder four years ago.
The Ukranian businessman was walking in Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) in Hout Bay on Saturday 27 July 2019 when he was allegedly attacked and stabbed to death around 11:00.
Anyone with information on Frischke’s disappearance is asked to contact the investigating officer Detective Sgt Daluxolo Mhlauli on 076 609 0764 or alternatively call Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
