Wanted man slips through the cracks
The fugitive wanted in connection with the disappearance of Sodwana Bay skipper John 'Matambu' Dercksen was reportedly apprehended for shoplifting – and let go after a court hearing.
According to reports, the theft and subsequent arrest of Tomas Frederik 'Ferdie' Visser occurred in the Heidedal area of Bloemfontein on 17 March – one year and one day after Dercksen disappeared without trace.
ALSO READ: R100k reward to catch fugitive linked to missing Sodwana skipper
His hearing was held on 18 March; the charge was withdrawn and he was released.
'It was R151 for two packets of smoked Viennas and a tin of beans, so they didn't run his ID number, thinking it was just a petty theft,' said Cherie Eilertsen, Dercksen's sister.
'I'm encouraged that we now know where he is… And he's got to surface every two to three days to steal something to eat.
'I'm not focusing on the fact that they released him because there's a lot of good that's come from this; he's living rough, nobody's helping him, he's having to steal.
'We now need to bring him in.'
Visser has been wanted in connection with Dercksen's disappearance in March last year.
He was apprehended in Mozambique five days after Dercksen went missing, presumed murdered, but 'botched' extradition proceedings saw charges against him withdrawn.
Although he was sent back to prison to see out the remainder of a previous sentence for which he had been parolled – and broken parole conditions – Visser managed to escape – while doing community service – from the Tonga Community Correction office in Mpumalanga at which he was being held.
He has been on the run since, but a warrant of his arrest was issued earlier this year in connection with a sexual assault case in Nelspruit.
An anonymous angler earlier this year posted a R100 000 reward for information leading to Visser's arrest.
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