US student's body found?

2008-09-08 15:25

Verashni Pillay

Cape Town - Police were on Monday trying to identify a body recovered near where American student Terrance Davis was swept out to sea a week ago.

"At this moment in time we cannot identify it due to the state of the body," said police spokesperson Captain Malcolm Pojie.

He told News24 the face was unrecognisable due to the length of time the body had been in the water.

Davis, 21, was on a hiking trip with four other University of Cape Town exchange students on September 1. He had climbed onto rocks at Harkerville, between Plettenberg Bay and Knysna, when he was washed out to sea, said NSRI Plettenberg Bay Station Commander Ray Farnham.

The body was spotted by SA National Park Rangers on Saturday afternoon, Farnham said.

Search operations

Search operations for the man have continued since his disappearance a week ago.

"They spotted a body floating approximately 100m offshore, five kilometres from Harkerville, where the student went missing," he said.

Pojie said police were in the process of identifying the body, and had asked the American Consulate for fingerprints and other records from the missing student, to compare with the body.

The man's family was in touch with the NSRI, police and the American Consulate in Cape Town. "They're quite worried and traumatised," said Pojie.

Meanwhile a 14-year-old boy went missing on Sunday after he paddled out onto Swartkops river near Port Elizabeth.

Ian Gray from NSRI PE said an angler saw the boy paddle across the river on a polystyrene board, with three friends. "He got into difficulty and fell off and disappeared beneath the surface," said Gray.

Despite search operations, the boy was still missing on Monday.

- News24