Durban — Police have confirmed that the teenage girl found dead on Youth Day in Pietermaritzburg is still unknown, however, there is a brief description of her.
Police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo said: “The victim is still unknown.”
Ngcobo had said that a body of a girl was found on the corner of Du Toit Viljoen and Ohrtmann roads and that an inquest docket was opened at Mountain Rise SAPS.
In a WhatsApp message, Pietermaritzburg ward councillor Suraya Reddy said it was with a heavy heart that she received a visitor, Sergeant Dlamini, in her office from Mountain Rise SAPS, following up on the girl who was found near her office.
Speaking to the Daily News on Monday, Reddy said her message was an appeal to the community since the girl’s body had been lying in the mortuary since June 16, and nobody had come forward to report her missing or identify her.
Reddy said incidents like those were common in the area because of drug abuse and sex work, however, this was a young girl.
“Perhaps the child ran away from home. Based on the description from the officer, she was really well kept, based on her clothing and body mass, compared to the others because once in the streets, there is weight loss,” Reddy said.
“He (officer) thought she could be from Manor Flats, where I’m based, which is a predominantly coloured area or she could be from the village or lower end of the CBD.”
Reddy said that most of the calls she received questioned whether the girl had a tattoo.
She also said she received a call from someone who could be the girl’s mother. She said she had not seen her daughter for three weeks but had not opened a case, because the girl usually had fights with her parents.
According to an unidentified person poster by Renegades Search and Rescue, Mountain Rise SAPS were seeking the assistance of the public in locating the next of kin of an unidentified, deceased, 15-year-old coloured girl.
The deceased was found in Ohrtmann Road, Pietermaritzburg, near the N3.
She was wearing a grey hoodie jacket and a blue and yellow striped T-shirt.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Mountain Rise SAPS on 033 387 9600.
Daily News