Norwegian family frantic about missing student

After a week of authorities combing the land and sea with a fine come to find her, there is still no sign of missing 21-year-old Norwegian student Marie Ostbo, Knysna-Plett Herald reports.

The search party currently trying to find the lost tourist includes members of the SA Police Service, the police diving unit, K9 dog unit, National Sea Rescue Institute, SA National Parks, emergency medical services and volunteers from the local community.

On Monday, April 23, according to a reliable source, a helicopter supplied by Working on Fire (WoF) also joined the search, but to no avail.

According to Southern Cape police spokesperson Captain Malcolm Pojie, a preliminary investigation indicates that Ostbo was at a restaurant with friends when she went for a walk at the nearby Myoli beach in Sedgefield on Wednesday 18 April at about 6.15pm.

“She never returned, and members of her tour group alerted authorities,” he said.

Immense efforts to find her

Pojie said immediate efforts to trace the missing tourist were unsuccessful, although the police did find shoes, a cellphone and a cap on the beach during the search operation. “These items are being kept for further forensic analysis,” he added.

The search operation was also extended to the neighbouring beaches at Buffalo Bay and Wilderness. Social media posts of Ostbo’s “missing person alert” have also been spread far and wide to ensure that no stone goes unturned.

Currently, said Pojie, there is no evidence that suggests any foul play and an inquiry docket was opened for further investigation by the Knysna detective branch.

“We do not want to speculate on any theories at this stage, but all possibilities are being investigated,” said Pojie.

Any person that can assist with the tracing of the missing student is urged to contact the investigating officer Captain Abrie Visagie at the Knysna police station on 044-302-6687.

The 21-year-old Marie Ostbo went missing on Wednesday 18 April on a beach in Sedgefield. Photo: Supplied

Family appeal for help

On Tuesday evening 23 April the Knysna-Plett Herald received an email listing some concerns around the missing persons investigation from an extremely concerned family friend of Ostbo.

Kristin Keiserås Bakkane, the mother of one of Ostbo’s friends in Norway, said her concern is not so much based around the search activities, but around facts she feels are not being addressed or are being omitted.

“It feels powerless, witnessing the search activities from afar and not even having the simplest questions clarified. Can Knysna-Plett Herald help?” she asked editor Elaine King.

Bakkane questioned why police have not yet traced down and interviewed two men who were apparently caught on CCTV footage near the area where Ostbo disappeared. She also wanted to know if proper “technical investigations” have been done in connection with the cap, cellphone and shoes found on the beach.

Knysna-Plett Herald could not confirm whether such footage exists.

‘Why only drowning being pursued?’
Bakkane also questioned why it took police as long as five days, according to her, to send an official missing person notice.

“How can SA authorities solely pursue the drowning theory… knowing that her new camera, which was claimed to be the reason why she allegedly went too close to the sea, (was) found at her hotel room,” the worried woman wanted to know.

According to Bakkane those who were on the beach with Ostbo “never thought she would be acting carelessly at the beach”, and wants Ostbo’s appearance to be regarded as a criminal act.

Bakkane pleaded with Knysna-Plett Herald to investigate further because, she said, “the lack of news on these issues makes us worried that South African authorities are missing out on important information in the attempts to find Marie. Help please?”

The email was sent to the Knysna police at the time of going to print on Tuesday 24 April. Hopefully the answers to these questions will be available as soon as possible.