Family portrait taken shortly before she disappeared, on a holiday to mark 22 years of marriage to her husband, Chris Nikoi.
Five weeks after his wife went missing from Table Mountain on March 21, a Gauteng man has shifted the focus of his search nationally after Cape police and rescue services have found no trace of her to date, Zululand Observer reports.
Chris Nikoi lives in Johannesburg, while his wife of 22 years Charlotte (50), and their 16 year-old daughter, reside in New York where Charlotte is a UNICEF Associate Director for HR.
The three were on a brief holiday in Cape Town last month when Charlotte vanished during a hike up the mountain on Human Rights Day.
“We set off and agreed as a family that we would go at our own pace, as long as we maintained visual contact of each other. A while in, at around 1pm, Charlotte had lagged a bit behind and texted me to say she was turning back,” says Chris.
Though Chris could see his wife around 100 metres behind him on the trail – and texted her back to offer to stop and wait for her to catch up – she opted not to complete the hike up Platteklip Gorge and promised to meet her husband and daughter back at the starting point.
Chris said she sent another text 35 minutes later suggesting that she had made it to the bottom of the trail safely. It was the last contact they had with her, and she has not been seen in the five weeks since.
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“Police immediately checked her phone, to use its location services, but it had been disabled. An extensive ground and aerial search was conducted by SA Wilderness Search and Rescue, without success. Her luggage and all of her possessions remained in the rental car, and rescue services immediately began combing the mountain, but they have to this day found no trace of her,” says Chris, who is determined to remain strong and positive for his children.
The last grainy image of Charlotte Nikoi, taken by her husband
He describes their marriage as a happy one, and says that Charlotte would never have willingly left her family, their daughter who was on the hike and two other older daughters.
“As several searches on and around Table Mountain have yielded nothing, I now believe my wife is being held against her will. He is now asking for help from members of the national community. I will reward handsomely the person who assists me with information that leads to the safe return of my wife. My children and I cannot imagine our life without her,” he said.
It has been five weeks since Charlotte disappeared, and the police search continues. Charlotte’s case has been logged with the Pink Ladies as a ‘Missing Adult’ alert. She is described as dark in complexion, with short salt-and-pepper hair. She is 1.73m tall and of average build.
Pink Ladies.
When she was last seen, Charlotte was wearing a blue hat, sunglasses, a black top and blue shorts. She also had on brown hiking shoes and a striped cardigan that was tied around her waist.
Anyone with information on Charlotte’s whereabouts is asked to urgently contact Chris on either 062 439 5189 or 079 140 6099.
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– Caxton News Service
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