Johan Dippenaar (40) has no idea where the girl, Janice, or her mother, Charmaine Kunz, are.
He last saw his daughter in 1999, when she was only a few years old.
The former Springs resident was involved in a motorcycle accident in 1999. Dippenaar, who now lives in Cape Town, was rushed to hospital with a broken femur and wrist, his heart stop beating four times and he suffered collapsed lungs.
He was eventually transferred to a Brenthurst clinic, which was the last place he saw Charmaine – who lived in Mackenzie Park.
“I came out of the theatre and I saw Charmaine in the ward,” said Dippenaar.
“Then I fell asleep and, when I woke up, she was gone.”
That was the last time he saw Charmaine, who should now be in her mid-40s.
Dippenaar relocated to Cape Town a few months after the accident, returning a few years later, when he searched for his ex-girlfriend and child (who should be in her late teens).
He said his life was very “black” before the accident, as he was a drug user.
He also now has memory loss.
The desperate man said his search for the women has been futile.
He resumed his mission to find them six years ago, when his wife, Meagan, convinced him to do so.
He grapples with that decision as it opens up old wounds.
“It breaks my heart not seeing my daughter, I don’t know what she looks like; I can’t be a dad,” he said.
“… It’s heartbreaking every time I search for her.
“I can’t stop thinking of my daughter; it’s a dead end every time I try find her.
“I want to get hold of her, do things for her and know whether she is in the right school.”
Dippenaar has enlisted the services of private investigators, run tiresome searches on Facebook and has asked friends who live in Benoni, to aid his mission.
When asked what he would say to his child if he saw her again, he said:
“I don’t know; I’m getting goosebumps.”
“I don’t know; I’m getting a frog in my throat – I would hug her.”
Dippenaar said he won’t stop looking for his daughter.
“No, obviously I won’t stop looking,” he said.
“… Somewhere, somebody will know something.”
Charmaine’s brother’s name was Walter.
Contact the City Times on 011 425 0164, with any information on the whereabouts of Janice or Charmaine.
