The family of Edward Blonski, who had been missing since 24 June, received the tragic news that his body had been discovered in the small lake in line with the Zoo Lake Bowls Club, 18 days later, on the evening of 11 July.
After frantic weeks of looking for their brother, the family was sitting down to dinner together when they received the call at about 8pm.
“[The police] phoned and we just knew because he said they had found something in the lake,” said Barbara Blonski, Edward’s sister.
Blonski’s body was discovered by a passerby at Zoo Lake at about 6pm. He was last seen on CCTV footage jogging into the park on 24 June.
According to a Facebook post, he had started jogging on Dee Road at about 11.45am. He had on a pair of black leather slip-on shoes. The next camera shot shows him with no shoes on at 12.08pm running downhill on Cresent Road onto Dorset Road. It was said Blonski was last seen running toward Moyo restaurant.
UPDATE: Body found in Zoo Lake confirmed as Edward Blonski
He was initially reported missing on 24 June at the Sandton Police Station and the case was then transferred to Parkview Police Station because the area he was last seen in, falls under the Parkview Police Station precinct.
“Our family wishes to sincerely thank every single person and association that helped us search far and wide in the last two weeks,” said Blonski’s cousin, Jacqueline Wijtenburg.
Parkview police spokesperson, Captain Tintswalo Sibeko confirmed, “On Tuesday at about 6pm, the body of a 32-year-old man was found at Zoo Lake. He was reported missing on 24 June at Parkview Police Station. An inquest case was opened for investigation.”
Blonski’s sisters Barbara and Krystyna spoke to the Gazette about the tragic loss of their brother.
They said he had made plans to see his father on the afternoon of 24 June. When he could not be reached, his family had no idea how serious it was. However, when they discovered that he did not go to work on Monday, they knew something was wrong.
On 26 June, they reached out to the community on social media to find out if anyone had seen him. “His friend immediately responded and said he was with him the previous night and he had dropped him at home that morning,” said Krystyna.
BREAKING NEWS: Unidentified body discovered by police in Zoo Lake
“When we put it out on Facebook and we realised that no one had seen him and no one knew where he was, we started straight away with a private investigator and put it out to Pink Ladies the same day as well, and filed a case with the police,” said Krystyna.
The sisters added that the process of receiving a case number took about a week, as they were unsure of the process to follow when filing a missing person’s report.
“Once we got the right people at Parkview Police Station and got a few people onto it, they were really incredible,” said Krystyna
“I think towards the end we just wanted to hear anything because you go through a stage of grief and then you think that maybe he could still be out there and come back, and then as soon as you do hear, you just wish you were back in limbo because it’s not what you want to hear,” said Barbara.
Barbara remembers with fondness Edward making a Polish dish, pieorgi, at Christmas for the family. It was always their Christmas dinner and while everyone would help, he would always be in charge of the meal.
His sisters described him as being very creative, friendly and a sociable person. “Our mother passed away 10 years ago and he was very close to her. The trauma really affected him and he kind of became an introvert – after her death he became more contemplative,” explained Krystyna.
Edward is survived by his four siblings and his dad.
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