Police have retrieved charred remains from a disused mine shaft in Welkom, Free State, believed to be those of the missing 19-year-old learner Thato Tumahole.
This is after a 22-year-old man believed to be her boyfriend confessed to the police that he dumped Tumahole’s body in the mine shaft.
Tumahole had been missing since the 10th of May. Police investigations led to the arrest of her boyfriend for kidnapping.
A mine rescue team and police members were hard at work to retrieve the charred remains from the disused mine shaft.
Police spokesperson Motantsi Makhele explains, “The remains of a charred body have been retrieved from the unused mine shaft. Investigations continue.”
VIDEO | Thato Tumahole | Mine rescue teams in Welkom work to retrieve charred remains in unused mineshaft:
Social media has been abuzz since Tumahole went missing on 10 May. It’s reported that the matric learner was meeting her friends at the time she went missing.
Police spokesperson Motantsi Makhele says they will need to run DNA tests to confirm the identity. ”The joint team went underground in search and the body was retrieved at an old shaft mine in Harmony. They discovered a human being in Harmony.”
The 22-year-old man is expected to appear in the Welkom Magistrate’s Court on Monday for kidnapping. A charge of murder will also be added if the remains are positively identified as being those of Thato Tumahole.
