Muizenberg’s sand-sculpture artist, known as Super Sandman, has been missing for 14 days.
According to the Pink Ladies, Lindokuhle Innocent Zungu was last seen on Muizenberg beach on Heritage Day, Thursday September 24, at 8pm.
A missing person’s case has been opened at the Muizenberg police station.
According to police spokesman, Captain Stephen Knapp, Mr Zungu is 1.65m tall and weighs about 75kg. It’s not known what he was wearing on the day of his disappearance.
His Facebook profile has also been deleted.
People across the far south have expressed their concern for Mr Zungu on social media.
One woman said she had previously worked with Mr Zungu and was “devastated and worried sick.” She wrote: “He is an artist, a father and a friend.”
However, some posts claimed he was on a spiritual journey across the country while another said: “Whatever happened to Super Sandman is his own doing,” and that he was on a “self-exile trip”.
The author of that post did not respond to enquiries from the Echo.
But Kate Parr, of Fish Hoek, who befriended Mr Zungu after sharing his work on Facebook, doesn’t believe he would have left without a word.
Ms Parr teaches pottery at The Net and offered to teach Mr Zungu at no charge to increase his earning potential for rainy days.
She said he had been unable to make a class last month because he had been visiting his hometown in St Lucia, in KwaZulu-Natal, from where he had sent her pictures of his baby.
Mr Zungu had planned to return by Wednesday September 16, but then he had been mugged and his bus had broken down, causing him to miss a connecting bus, she said. He had then returned to St Lucia to get money for his transport.
Ms Parr said he had finally returned on Sunday September 20 but had told her he could not attend a pottery class the following day as he had a meeting with the Indian Embassy and another meeting after that. And then he went missing.
“He does not strike me as being dishonest or a manipulator,” Ms Parr said.
She said the post indicating that “whatever happened to Super Sandman is his own doing” and that he was in “self-exile” gave her hope, but she doubted their veracity.
“I have been told that only he will be able to delete his own Facebook profile, and I feel that until Innocent makes contact he is theoretically still missing. People just don’t wander off,” she said.
Rosemary Cole, from the office of the consul general of India, PK Ashok Babu, confirmed that they had had a meeting with Mr Zungu on Monday September 21, at 4.53pm.
“We all pray for his safe return,” she said.
If you have any information about the whereabouts of Mr Zungu, call investigating officer Captain Adam Kappers at 079 894 1582.
