Missing oupa, 81, is found dead
OUPA: John Saunders.
The lifeless body of a oupa from Hanover Park was discovered a day after he was reported missing.
John Saunders, 81, was found on Sunday in a canal at the Wetton railway station subway.
John, who suffers from dementia, walked away from his Hanover Park home around 4am the day before.
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said an inquest docket has been opened for investigation.
“This office can confirm that the body of an unidentified male estimated to be in his 60s was found floating in the water at Wetton railway station subway on Sunday at about 12pm,” Van Wyk explained.
“SAPS Diving Unit recovered the body and the man was declared deceased by Metro ambulance personnel. A post-mortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death.”
Virgil Saunders told the Daily Voice that they are devastated by the news and is asking anyone with information about his father’s death to come forward.
“He was always helpful towards his kids, he had no money. It is just unfortunate that dementia has taken on him,” he said.
“I don’t know what happened or how he died.”
Virgil added that tomorrow would have been his pa’s 82nd birthday.
Meanwhile, Candice van der Rheede, the founder of the Western Cape Missing Persons Unit, has urged mense to visit mortuaries if they have a missing family member.
A spokesperson for the health department, Byron La Hoe, added it could take up to six months to identify an unclaimed corpse.
“FPS in Tygerberg currently has 141 unidentified cases in various stages of identification, which include comparison of fingerprints against the criminal record database.
“Only once all these processes are finalised, which can take up to six months, is the deceased then released as a pauper,” La Hoe added.