KNYSNA NEWS - Two years after she went missing, Frances Froechlick is yet to be found and her family still want answers about her disappearance. They believe that she is still alive, a family member told KPH last week, shortly after the missing woman's birthday.
Froechlick was last seen on 11 October 2019, nine days after her 67th birthday, and was reported missing by her family three days later.
In an interview with KPH last year in October, her daughter-in-law Rebecca Phillips said police transported Froechlick from her home in White Location near Chris Nissen Primary School to the Knysna Magistrate's Court on 11 October 2019, when she was due to appear in a case as a witness.
"After proceedings had concluded, she was never taken back home," Phillips told KPH. "The police never gave her a lift home, she was left at the court, and that was the last time anybody saw her."
Now, two years on, Froechlick has still not been found and the family has not seen any resolution in the case.
"We don't have any answers. Still, nothing," Phillips said last week. "We still don't know why she was picked up, it wasn't necessary for her to go and testify in the case." According to Phillips the police officer who picked her up was in a rush.
"The door to their house was left wide open, they were in such a rush to just grab her and go. They didn't tell anyone they were taking her. Her partner was across the street and they didn't even give her a chance to tell him," she said.
Southern Cape police spokesperson
Sgt Chris Spies confirmed in 2020 that an internal probe into the case was opened last year after the family made complaints relating to Froechlick's disappearance.
According to Phillips, her partner and Froechlick's son, Marius Laminie, still finds it hard to deal with his mother's disappearance. "He still struggles from time to time, especially this time of year. He gets really sick and refuses to eat sometimes. It's her birthday on 2 October, 11 October is the anniversary of her going missing, and 28 October is his birthday - it's incredibly difficult."
Phillips and the family believe that Froechlick is still alive. "She turned 69 this year, and we cannot wait for her to come home and celebrate with us."
According to Western Cape police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk, the case "is still under investigation with no new developments to report".
"The search/investigations continues," he said.
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