Update

GEORGE NEWS - The impassioned hopes of the loved ones of Daywin Jonas (26) from George and Desmond Share (53) from Hartenbos, were shattered when both men were found brutally murdered. 

A charred body, that police strongly suspect to be that of Jonas, was found next to the N9 close to Uniondale on 27 July. The body is yet to be identified by DNA tests. 

Share's body was found near Albertinia on 5 August.

In both cases suspects have been arrested and appeared in the George and Mossel Bay Magistrate's courts respectively. Read the article on Share's murder on page 2.

Daywin, originally from Joubertina, resided in Conville, and went missing on 26 July when he left his home to meet a prospective buyer for his white VW Citi Golf.

At about 21:30 that night, Jonas sent his girlfriend a message telling her that he was on his way to meet the buyer on the outskirts of Pacaltsdorp. Shortly afterwards he could not be reached on his cellphone as it was switched off.

Jonas never returned home and his family reported him missing.

On 3 August, the police investigation led officers to several houses in Pacaltsdorp where car parts from Jonas' vehicle were found. His cellphone was also found at a house in Church Street after it had been sold. 

Two brothers from Pacaltsdorp, Jhrlique Olkers (30) and Marciano Danster (25), were arrested and charged with murder, forgery, possession of stolen property and fraud.

Last week police were tight-lipped about the investigation into Jonas' disappearance and it seems the reason for this was to ensure the successful apprehension of the suspects.

From what George Herald could gather, Olkers, posing as a buyer, allegedly first lured Jonas to Wilderness Heights and later to Olkers' rented flat on a smallholding in Hansmoeskraal on the outskirts of Pacaltsdorp. 

Daywin's car

It was allegedly here that Jonas was murdered on 26 July. It is believed that the suspects put his body into the boot of Olkers' black Volkswagen Golf - a vehicle that the police in their investigation discovered was stolen in Caledon in June 2022 - while the white Golf was stripped. 

They later tried to hide the stripped vehicle elsewhere in George. The same night they bought petrol at a fuel station in George and drove out in the direction of Uniondale on the N9 where they allegedly disposed of Jonas' body in a bin next to the road and set it alight.

After the charred body was discovered by passers-by on 27 July, George Herald was told that at that stage, the discovery was not linked to Jonas' disappearance, but it would seem that the suspects made certain confessions and pointings out following their arrests on Friday 4 August, leading police to believe that it was in fact Jonas' body, and the murder charge was added.

Police this week said, "The process to positively identify a body that was found along the N9 outside Uniondale is currently underway".

On Monday, Southern Cape police spokesperson Sgt Chris Spies said an intricate investigation had led police to premises in Pacaltsdorp and Thembalethu on Thursday 3 August where two vehicles as well as parts were recovered. 

"One of the vehicles was later positively identified as the missing person's vehicle. The other vehicle, a black Volkswagen Golf, was reported as stolen in Caledon during June 2022."

The suspects remain in custody and will make their next court appearance on 31 August for a formal bail application.

The investigation continues.

Jonas advertised his vehicle on Facebook Marketplace. Residents who make use of this platform are urged to exercise extreme caution and to always meet prospective buyers or sellers in busy public areas.

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