The family of Pierre Lotter, who drowned at sea, have expressed their gratitude to the search teams for their bravery and support in helping them recover his body after it washed up on a Melkbosstrand shore on Sunday.
This comes after an extensive search for the 23-year-old from Kathu in the Northern Cape who went missing last Tuesday while he and his 47-year-old uncle, Willem Pretorius, were fishing at Kids Rock in Bloubergstrand with their three dachshunds.
According to a statement from the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), one dog was found with Mr Pretorius’s body last week while the other two dogs were also found dead on Sunday.
The NSRI also released a statement from the family. It thanked City Law Enforcement, the NSRI’s Melkbosstrand and Table Bay branches, the SAPS diving unit, Table View police, Cape Town Fire and Rescue, emergency medical services, Big Bay Surf Lifesaving, the Forensic Pathology Service, counsellors and people from the surrounding communities.
“We were overwhelmed by the number of people that stopped what they were doing and rushed to help search for our missing son and his beloved dogs. Thank you to the emergency services on the scene for their tremendous efforts to resuscitate Willem. Unfortunately their efforts did not succeed and sadly Willem passed on at the scene. Together with all those wonderful people, who were there on the evening of May 14 and did whatever they could to help us. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you,” said the statement.
NSRI Melkbosstrand station commander Hein Kohne extended his condolences to the families of Mr Lotter and Mr Pretorius.
He said the NSRI, together with the City of Cape Town and police divers, was arranging a formal cremation for the three dogs on behalf of the family.
Provincial police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swaartbooi said Mr Lotter was declared dead on the scene by medical personnel and the circumstances surrounding his death were being investigated.
