Families in Northern Cape are left in despair as children continue to vanish without a trace.
And one mother has died without answers about the whereabouts of her five-year-old son Le-Virno. Lie-en van Wyk died in June 2026, without ever getting answers or knowing if she would ever see her son again.
Little Le-Virno, from Louisvaleweg disappeared in broad daylight on Tuesday, 31 May 2022. After school, he went to play with friends near a railway line close to the Skierlik informal settlement in Upington, but he never returned home.
He was last seen wearing a yellow T-shirt, mustard pants and black boots. Despite extensive searches by police and community members across farms, swamps and dumping sites, no trace of him has ever been found.
The South African Police Service in the Northern Cape offered a monetary reward for information that could help locate the child, yet Le-Virno remains missing.
Another family’s heartache
The search is also ongoing for teenager David Waterboer. Fourteen-year-old David, a pupil at Sacred Heart Primary School, left his home on Friday morning, 7 February 2025. He told his mother he was heading to a sports event in nearby Concordia but never arrived.
He was reportedly seen later that day at the athletics event and was allegedly spotted at a local bus stop the following morning.
David is approximately 1.60m tall with a slender build. He has a mole between his eyes and a scar on his right knee from a previous operation. He was wearing a black T-shirt, black or black-and-red pants, and navy blue sandals or flip-flops when he went missing.
Police have offered a reward of R75,000 for any information that may lead to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator or perpetrators and to David’s safe return.
Authorities continue to urge anyone with information about either boy to come forward. Crime Stop can be contacted on 08600 10111
Marlene Minopetros
iol.co.za
