Search ends in tears: Bodies of student and girlfriend found inside car in Stellies dam
COUPLE: Ethan Kirkland and Leila Lees. Picture: Mandilakhe Tshwete
The search for a missing couple from Stellenbosch ended in tragedy when their dead bodies were found.
First-year Stellenbosch University student Ethan Kirkland, 19, was last seen at about 5pm on Friday with his 18-year-old girlfriend Leila Lees at The Niche apartment block.
Monday, they were found inside Ethan’s car, which was spotted in a dam in Paul Kruger Street in Stellenbosch.
Hundreds of mourners gathered at the scene as police retrieved the reed-covered maroon Subaru Forester.
Ethan’s distraught father Paul Midlane told the Daily Voice: “They dropped off a friend at a hostel on Friday night.
“She was supposed to be at work the next day, and she didn’t show up for work and her boss called her sister and asked where she was.
“And that is when people started to try to contact and locate them.”
He adds that Ethan lived next to the water-filled quarry where their bodies were discovered.
“It looks like it was a car accident, that he veered off the road into the water.
“Anyone who drove past would not have been able to see the car.
“We were driving up and down looking for the car but couldn’t see it.”
The hartseer dad says they filed a missing persons report on Saturday and the community and students organised several search parties and WhatsApp groups.
“Being in South Africa, one fears the worst. On Sunday we had been looking at the cameras [in the vicinity] to see if we could see the car,” the dad says.
“No one could see it beyond a certain point because there was load shedding and the cameras switched off, and we didn’t know where the car had gone.
“We couldn’t understand how a car could just disappear. [Monday] we started the search again and we took it to the last known place where we knew the car was seen and then someone spotted the tyre sticking out [of the reeds].”
Police spokesperson warrant officer Joseph Swartbooi confirms the bodies of the missing couple were recovered.
“At around 10.10am, a community member spotted an object in a dam in the city centre and alerted the authorities,” he explains.
“The local police members responded and secured the scene, when they noticed the wheels of a motor vehicle, which was the only part of the vehicle that was visible.
“The police requested the assistance of the Saps provincial diving unit and upon arrival at the scene, after assessing the circumstances, they retrieved the bodies of the two victims from the motor vehicle.
“Both victims were declared deceased on the scene by the medical personnel.
“Stellenbosch police registered an inquest for further investigation.”
Anyone with information about the incident can anonymously contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or SMS Crime Line on 32211.