Without a trace

ELLANIE SMIT WINDHOEKAs the family of Shannon Darlikie Wasserfall battles to deal with the trauma of her disappearance - without a trace - nearly six months ago, the incident is threatening to become another one of the unsolved cases that are continuing to pile up on the desks of police investigators.Shannon’s father, Tega Matheus, told Namibian Sun yesterday they need closure.But despite the fact that there has been no news from Shannon or developments in the case, they are still hopeful. “We just want to say to Shannon: ‘Come back home, come back’,” Matheus said.He said the uncertainty of the situation is what’s most difficult for them. “If we could just know if she is out there somewhere and safe or what happened to her, that could give us closure.” Someone must knowEerily the cover photo on Wasserfall’s Facebook page includes a quote that reads: “When you’re in alignment with your authentic self, the right people will gravitate towards you.” Her relationship status indicates that she is seeing someone.Matheus is adamant someone must know what happened to his daughter. “Even if Shannon could say ‘I am here and doing this, but I do not want be bothered’, that would give us closure knowing that she is fine, but this uncertainty…”The 22-year-old disappeared on 10 April, a day after dropping off her two-year-old child at a friend's house in Walvis Bay’s Kuisebmond suburb. She was last seen on the 10 April at 18:00 in Kabeljou Street wearing a white shorts, black top and navy blue jacket. Wasserfall had travelled from Windhoek to Walvis Bay last December to visit her mother. The police have been searching for her for the past five months, to no avail. #BringShannonHomeThe family was planning to hire a private detective to help with the search for Wasserfall, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, that plan was shelved, Matheus said. He stressed that people should stop making up false stories about Wasserfall and where they’ve seen her, but added they appreciate the immense public support. Meanwhile, Namibian Twitter users have created the hashtag #BringShannonHome in an effort to amplify the search. Hundreds of users on the platform have posted, shared and retweeted the hashtag, and have created accompanying artwork.No resultsErongo police crime investigations coordinator, Deputy Commissioner Erastus Iikuyu, yesterday said the investigation has yielded no results. “There have been no leads or new developments in the search for Shannon, but the investigation will not stop until we have an outcome.” Statements were taken from those who had contact with Wasserfall before her disappearance, but there are no clues as to her whereabouts. Interpol has put up a notice on their website, which is linked with police associates worldwide.RewardIikuyu appealed to anyone with information to come forward. The police in July offered a reward of N$50 000 for information that may lead to finding Wasserfall.They can be contacted at 081 3600 140, 081 496 0067 or 081 428 9949 or report what you know to your nearest police station. Mostert killingAmong the unsolved cases that continue to haunt the nation is the murder of 44-year-old Marius Christo Mostert who was killed in the Kupferberg area on 24 June 2015. Mostert, was in the company of a woman identified as Karen Angilley on the night he was killed. Angilley said she was raped by a group of men who also shot and killed Mostert. A passer-by found her walking with only a blanket and jacket covering her and gave her a lift.Stoffels rape, murderThe body of Magdalena Stoffels was found in Windhoek on 27 July 2010. Stoffels, a 17-year-old schoolgirl, was found in a riverbed. She had been brutally raped and murdered. B1 ButcherA killer who became known as the B1 Butcher murdered at least five women between 2005 and 2007, with all the murders in some way related to the B1 road.Body parts of the women were discovered during this period, all showing signs of being frozen or refrigerated.All five of the B1 Butcher’s victims were young or middle-aged women. Two of the five women killed (both found in 2007) could not be identified. The other three women are Juanita Mabula (21 years, murdered in 2005), Melanie Janse (22 years, murdered in 2005) and Sanna Helena ?Garoës (36 years, murdered 2007). In 2008, Hans Husselmann from Rehoboth took his own life after being implicated in the murders. He had been serving a life sentence for two murders, and was released on parole in 2004. Although one of the murder victims (Helena ?Garoës) DNA was found in Husselmann's flat and his DNA was found on a letter to the police concerning another victim (Juanita Mabula), the evidence was inconclusive.Cheryl’s murderCheryl ‘Avihe’ Ujaha’s mutilated body was found discarded near a riverbed between Katutura and Khomasdal on 28 August 2018. She had been raped and partially dismembered. The nine-year-old went missing two days earlier and a frantic search was launched, including on social media.

Without a trace

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-03

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Without a trace

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-03

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