“He had his jogging clothes on - a red T-shirt, black shorts and red running shoes. That’s the last time we saw him.”
|||Cape Town - Mystery surrounds the disappearance of a 43-year-old jogger from Observatory.
Paule-Henry Botha was last seen by his housemate, Jana Cloete, last Thursday morning. Cloete, 29, suspects Botha disappeared during his regular morning jog.
She told the Cape Argus on Monday that Botha, who works for a restaurant in Constantia, gave her a lift to the Observatory train station just before 7am on October 11.
“He had his jogging clothes on - a red T-shirt, black shorts and red running shoes. That’s the last time we saw him,” she said.
Cloete said Botha was a regular morning jogger who either ran down Cranko Road in Observatory to Liesbeeck Park or along Salt River main road.
Botha moved to Cape Town from Joburg two years ago. He had been staying with Cloete and her partner since January this year.
On Thursday evening, the couple suspected something was amiss when Botha was still not home at 9pm.
“It was weird that his car was parked in front of the house,” she said. “He is someone who sticks to a regular routine. His work clothes, a shirt, socks and pants were neatly folded on top of his bed… it’s clear he was planning to go to work.”
Private Investigator Kurt Kitshoff, employed by Botha’s employers, said R3 000 was withdrawn from Botha’s account on Thursday morning at an ATM at Cape Town station.
“We are now waiting for ATM video footage from the bank to determine who withdrew the cash,” Kitshoff said.
Police spokesman Captain Frederick Van Wyk confirmed that a missing person’s report had been filed.
Anyone with information can contact Sergeant Hilton Malila at 021 442 3151 or Crime Stop at 08600 10111.
nontando.mposo@inl.co.za
Cape Argus