Durban – The aerial search conducted by Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) for the body parts of Philasande Shange, 7, yielded no results on Monday.
Rusa had been asked by the family to help in the search for the rest of Philasande’s body parts after finding his head and leg near a stream two weeks ago after receiving a string of SMS messages from an untraceable number directing the family to his remains.
Philasande went missing on January 5 in KwaDukuza (Stanger). He failed to return home from a tuck shop near his home in Ntshawini.
After consulting two traditional healers the family were informed that the missing body parts were buried behind a banana plantation in the area. Shange’s aunt then made contact with Rusa, seeking assistance in checking the area for a new grave after they failed to cover the entire search area.
Rusa spokesperson Prem Balram said that the search for Philasande’s remains conducted by the Rusa helicopter pilot and three crew members on Monday morning was unsuccessful.
Balram said that Rusa dispatched a team to assist on Monday morning at approximately 10.25am, to recover Philasande's missing body parts.
He said that reaction officer Angel Mbali MaPhiri interviewed the aunt and was informed that the traditional healers were certain that the body was buried near a stream and a banana plantation. MaPhiri also learnt that the murderer continued to torment the family via SMS.
“During the search, the aircraft landed and the crew continued on foot after spotting an area marked with an X on the ground. It could not be immediately established if the X was a construction marker,” Balram said.
“The area that was directed by the traditional healers was searched extensively with no positive results.”
Daily News