Cape Town - A woman who was reported missing two weeks ago, has been identified in a mortuary.
A Heideveld mother, Denice Hendricks, 60, reported missing on April 19, was on Monday found in Salt River mortuary. Hendricks went missing after escorting her family on an outing in Mowbray on April 18.
Community activist, Vanessa Adriaanse said on Monday, “She has family here that is not from Cape Town, so they came to visit and then obviously like a normal person will do, take her family out, then they went to Champs (a tavern).”
Daughter Kauthar Davids, 38 said on Monday, “I want answers because she didn’t deserve the way she died.”
Davids said after her mother failed to come home last week, she went to Mowbray police station to ask about her mother’s whereabouts.
She said, she was told by police officers that Hendricks was found and returned home safely, sending Davids into “confusion and panic”.
She said yesterday she was informed that her mother had been in the mortuary since April 18, where her corpse was received at 10.15pm.
The cause of death is not yet known.
A source said Hendricks was with six people seen at Champs tavern in Mowbray that evening. When the electricity went out at 8pm, they left the tavern. Hendricks was never seen again until her body was identified at the mortuary.
“What makes this so strange is Denice was a fearful person, she was a jolly person, hyper active, but she wouldn’t walk alone that time of the night, especially in an unfamiliar place. Then she left the place and the family immediately started to look for her,” a source said.
“The (electricity) went on again after 10pm and the family were still looking for her, the search went on.”
After five days of panic about where her mother may be, Davids said she is relieved she can finally put her mother’s body to rest. She said a community vigil was planned at Linda Court, Heideveld for last night.
Adriaanse said, “I knew Denice inside out, for over 35 years I have been with her fighting for a house, and I used to tell her, before you close your eyes, you will get your house, and being so close with Denice and her family, I can say the community is sad.
“You can consider Denice a well known activist that passed on. Whenever we had events in the community, someone would always say, ‘don’t forget to send Denice an invitation’, because the party is not complete if Denice isn’t there,” Adriaanse said.