Article as published in Eikestad News by Angelo Julies. Source: https://e-publikasies.streeksnuus.netwerk24.com/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&pubid=938df3f3-33ac-4073-96cd-20d644b4a401
Using technology, Cloetesville police have finally made a breakthrough in the investigation into a man who was reported missing earlier this year.
Police discovered and exhumed the bones of an unknown person on Libertas Farm last Tuesday (May 24) using Reutech Radar Systems technology after trying to locate the body for three weeks.
AO Zenobia Sedeman, police spokesperson, says they have a strong suspicion that it is the missing person, but that an autopsy must confirm this. The autopsy will be held tomorrow (Friday 3 June).
“An autopsy will be held to confirm the cause of death as well as DNA tests to determine the identity of the victim.”
According to Sedeman, the police made a breakthrough in the investigation when they arrested someone on the farm a few weeks ago.
“People from the farm came to the police station in connection with another case and then recognized the missing person’s photo. They told the investigating officer they knew the man and that he had been killed on the farm and his body had been thrown into the river. But after further investigation and interrogations, it was determined that a body had been thrown on the rubbish heap. “
Police obtained permission from the farm owner to conduct excavations. “After about two weeks we had no success and we approached Reutech for help because they took aerial photos and it might have helped us. Reutech agreed and provided us with aerial photos from 2020. It helped to determine where we should look, “says Sedeman.
Reutech staff went to the farm on Monday 23 May and did numerous scans before arriving at the spot where the body was and sweeping over the entire surface with the technology.
“We used our ground penetrating radar technology, which is mainly used in mining, and sent frequencies with a bandwidth of 300MHz to 1GHz into the ground. During the scan, we noticed a large reflection that led us to the place where the body was buried. We did about 15 scans, ” said Margot Nel of Reutech.
The bones, which were wrapped in a sleeping bag, were discovered during the excavations. According to police, all the bones were in the sleeping bag.
Police thank everyone who helped with the excavation.
