Missing Person: Chadinha (2004)

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

My 15-year old daughter, due to the bad influence of friends, ran away from home during November 2004.

At first I thought it was just spiteful behaviour on her part, but then, at about 22:00 realised that something was seriously wrong. We started searching the neighbourhood, the N1 bypass and all known locations where we thought she could be. I continued searching through the night, but to no avail. I was also unable to reach her on her cell phone. On many occasions in my life I was afraid, but for the first time I experienced naked fear.

The following morning at approximately 06:00 I opened my safe and took out her passport and also started collecting photo's of her to report her as missing to the SAPD. I then realized that this could only be done after she had been missing for 48 hours.

I was aware of the experiment that Mr Danie Krugel was busy with and took the liberty of phoning him at ± 06:30 that morning. He requested me to supply him with a photo of my daughter as well as a hairbrush that was frequently used by her. At approximately 08:00 Mr Krugel came to my office to collect the brush. He told me that he would analyse the hair on the brush. It was approximately 08:45 when he phoned me and requested me to go to the bridge at Benade Avenue where he traced my daughter. He also informed me that she was still in the boundaries of Bloemfontein. He narrowed the area down to two street blocks where she possibly could have been. He also pointed out some houses where he believed she could be. I immediately went to the houses in search of my daughter and found in all three cases that the people living there were friends of hers but they indicated that they had not seen her for the past 24 hours.

Danie then started searching again and saw that she moved into the Fichardt Park area. We came together at a point adjacent to Fichardt Park Primary School where he once again took a reading from his instruments and found that she was not at the school but moved passed the school to an area approximately four street blocks away. He sent me to the railroad to see whether I could find anything and then he followed a new direction. Within twenty minutes I received a call from him telling me that he found my daughter unharmed.

I never saw the instrument neither the working of it, but know without it, or reverting to the Police for assistance, the outcome of finding my daughter could have been so very different. Were it not for Mr Krugel's willingness and the speed with which he reacted to my plea for help, I could have lost my daughter for ever. I thank God for his assistance and for making this type of equipment available to us in an effort to address this very serious problem.

DR JG CHADINHA

23 May 2005