The man was late yesterday afternoon identified as Albouystown resident Hilton Richardson, 65, who was reported missing over the weekend by his family.
His daughter, Nicola Richardson, told this newspaper last evening that her father, who worked as a security guard in the city, was last seen around December 31. She added that he was an epileptic and that he would “drink a lot.”
She said he would usually leave the family’s house for a few days. As a result, she waited for a few days but last Sunday decided to lodge a missing person’s report at the Ruimveldt Police station. The woman stated that she identified her father’s remains by the clothes he wore, which were the same he wore when he was last seen alive. She said she was surprised at the location where his body was found but noted that he travelled out of town from time to time.
The man was clad in blue long pants and a white shirt. A green haversack, which contained a few plastic bottles, was strapped around his back.
Reports are that around 10 am yesterday, a few young men from the area were swimming in ‘The Blacka’ when one of them observed a pair of jeans floating. The young man who made the discovery recounted that he was swimming close to a tree that had fallen into the water, when he noticed an object floating in the water some distance away. It appeared to be a pair of jeans and he decided to take a closer look. He said he alerted his friends and they immediately jumped out of the water and headed along the banks of the stream, eventually finding the man’s body. An alarm was raised and shortly after a team of police officers ventured into the area, which is located about 10 minutes walking distance from the North Ruimveldt community.
The man’s body was later removed from the scene and taken to the Lyken’s Funeral Parlour. A post-mortem examination is expected to be performed on the body later this week.
