Port Elizabeth - A friend of Nicola Pienaar, 28, who went missing earlier this month, is set to appear in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate's Court on Monday in connection with her stolen car.
The 32-year-old man was arrested after being found in a silver Peugeot 206 which apparently belongs to Pienaar, Netwerk24 reported.
Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said he would appear on a charge of possession of a suspected stolen vehicle.
Pienaar and her friend had apparently left Paarl together on January 5.
According to Naidu the man claimed that they'd had a spat on January 7 and that he'd given her money and dropped her off in Oudtshoorn, where he told her to go back to Paarl.
Pienaar's petrol card was used for the last time on January 9 at Krakeel, a village near Kareedouw in the Eastern Cape.
Police were informed on Saturday morning of a Peugeot which had been found in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant in Cape Road in Port Elizabeth.
"A member of the flying squad got to the scene at about 05:00," said Naidu.
'It's not like her to not phone me'
After checking the number plate the police realised that the car had been reported stolen in Paarl. Pienaar's friend was in the car and he was arrested.
According to Naidu the car was reported stolen soon after Pienaar went missing.
Pienaar's mother, Marlaine Pienaar-Vice, confirmed that she'd reported her daughter missing, but wouldn't say why.
All she said was: "I don't want to jeopardise the investigation. But you have to understand, I haven't had any contact with my daughter since January 5. It's not like her to not phone me."
Pienaar-Vice also couldn't say with any certainty if her daughter and the man found in her car had been a couple and she didn't want to speculate about why he was found in her car.
"I don't have enough information to form an opinion. The man will have to come back to Paarl and explain what happened and where my daughter is."
Pienaar was still missing on Sunday. Naidu said local police were working with detectives in Paarl to find her.
