A R5,000 reward is being offered for information on the ongoing disappearance of a disabled grandmother from Buffalo City, who has been missing for four months.
Eudora Bruintjies, a 52-year-old who suffers from severe epilepsy, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, was last seen on October 25 2024 around 7pm on Lavender Avenue, Parkside, dressed in a pink gown and striped dress.
Given her health constraints, Bruintjies disappearance was especially troubling at the time because she cannot survive without immediate access to her medication. Four months on from her disappearance, her family says they have accepted that they will not see her alive again but they remain desperate for information on what could have led to her disappearance.
The K9 unit, Buffalo Flats SAPS and the Parkside community have continued to search the bushy areas in and around where Bruintjies could have disappeared twice a week. Their recent search, prompted by a lead from a security company, uncovered the discovery of another missing person, assumed to have disappeared over a year ago, as confirmed by missing person’s NPC, Missing They Wrote (MTW).
Bruintjies’ daughter, Monique, said the family suspects foul play, however they have been told that without a confession, SAPS Buffalo Flats cannot proceed with criminal investigation.
Monique said: “No one has yet come forward with any information but we are offering a R5,000 reward for whistleblowers with solid tip-offs, even if these are anonymous.
“As a family we are drained and traumatised by my mom’s ongoing disappearance because the most difficult part is having no reliable leads and therefore no idea of what actually happened that night. We speculate that our mom is no more and it is killing us to have to think that she may be lying somewhere, decomposing.
“My younger siblings are not coping at school under the pressure because we live every day in an ongoing nightmare.”
Monique added: “Our family begs the public to please come forward with any crucial information.”
MTW, which is dedicated to finding missing people, in collaboration with the SAPS, have vowed they will not give up on looking for Eudora but are convinced that her disappearance may involve an element of foul play.
MTW’s chaplain Bernadine Wilkin said: “Eudora has been missing for four months and we are concerned that despite there being a cash reward, no new leads are coming in. I can’t help feeling that something sinister happened that night.
“Someone saw something or knows something and is not coming forward; robbing this family of their desperately needed closure.”
Research conducted into the psychosocial effects that missing person cases have on families left behind, indicate that grief caused by this ambiguous loss is open-ended, long-term and chronic. Ambiguous loss is the most stressful type of loss because there is no proof of finality. The grief caused by this is chronic and immobilises the lives of family members left behind, which leads to chronic hyper-vigilance, anxiety, depression, suicide ideation, addiction and breaks up remaining family bonds.
Dr Pauline Boss from the University of Minnesota writes: “When there is no body to bury, people are not able to see the physical transformation in a loved one’s body with their own eyes and are less likely to accept the loss as permanent.
“Without being able to see a body, the family feels guilty about mourning and their loss is not recognised by the community because cultural and religious rites are all performed with evidence of the deceased’s remains.”
Mawisa affirmed that Buffalo Flats SAPS had not received any leads, despite involvement of specialised units, however missing people remain a priority for SAPS detectives and anyone with information is encouraged to contact, Detective WO Hubert Meinie on 072-730-1221 or 043-733-0198.
In a statement to the GO!&Express, the Eastern Cape Human Rights and Missing Person Unit said: “We remain fully committed to finding Eudora Bruintjies and are working tirelessly alongside SAPS search and rescue to ensure a comprehensive search operation.
“While the challenges are significant, we believe it is never too late to bring her home.
“Families also play a vital role in safeguarding vulnerable loved ones, and we urge communities to remain vigilant.
“As missing person cases continue to rise, our team remains resolute in exhausting every possible avenue to reunite Eudora with her family.”
The slow progress in finding Eudora has sparked outrage, particularly among women in the Parkside community, who say her case highlights the vulnerabilities of elderly, disabled women.
Experts warn that cases like Eudora’s are becoming increasingly common in SA, where elderly women face physical, sexual, and financial abuse, often targeted for their social grants.
Dr Lesley-Ann Foster from Masimanyane Women’s Rights International believes Bruintjies’ disappearance could be a criminal case.
With gender-based violence and femicide rates in the Eastern Cape among the highest in the country, researchers stress that women with disabilities are even more at risk of violence.
Eudora’s loved one’s are hosting a march in her honour on March 11 from Shiloh Church in Parkside to Buffalo Flats SAPS.
The March will start at 7am.
