‘Not the outcome we hoped for’: Families grieve as missing officers found in river

Missing cops/pfficers

Cape Town – After six days of intense searching across three provinces, the South African Police Service (SAPS) has confirmed the discovery of the bodies of three missing police officers in the Hennops River in Centurion.

Constables Keamogetswe Buys, Boipelo Senoge, and Cebekhulu Linda were reported missing last week, prompting a high-level investigation and search effort that spanned Gauteng, the Free State, and Limpopo.

The SAPS on Tuesday confirmed the officers were found deceased, alongside two other bodies — one identified as an administrative clerk from the Lyttleton Police Station.

The grim discovery was made following days of coordinated work by various SAPS units, including drone pilots, the cybercrime unit, HAWKS, counter-intelligence, and the Gauteng Traffic and Bidvest Protea Coin Airwings.

Vehicle parts believed to be from a VW Polo were found along the N1 highway near Grasmere Toll Plaza, guiding investigators to the Hennops River.

There, police divers recovered a Renault Kangoo panel van and, initially, two bodies: one of Constable Senoge and another identified as a Lyttleton Police Station employee. The search resumed at first light, yielding the bodies of Constable Linda and a yet-to-be-identified decomposed individual. By late afternoon, Constable Buys’ body was also found.

Family members of the deceased were taken to the mortuary where they officially identified their loved ones.

“Ladies and gentlemen I am unfortunately not the bearer of good news this evening. We had hoped to find our three police officers safe, unharmed and alive, but this is not the case.

“It is with deep sorrow that I confirm that our three members have been found, together with two other bodies, one being an admin clerk that is attached to our Lyttleton police station,” National Police Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola said.

The SAPS said that the cause of the deaths remains under investigation.

The VW Polo believed to have been used by the officers is still missing, and authorities have not ruled out any possibilities, including foul play or accident.

“We don’t want to speculate at this stage what led to the discovery of these bodies in this river, whether it was an accident or not, our investigation will reveal those aspects once we find their vehicle,” said Masemola.

The police expressed gratitude to the task team and affected families for their resilience and cooperation during the search.

The tragedy has sent shockwaves through the police service, with the loss described as a devastating blow to the SAPS family.

Investigations continue.

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