Hope fades for swimmer still missing after the Midmar Mile event

Read for instance Times Live and iol

The loved ones of missing Midmar Mile swimmer, Herman “Thabo” van Straten, are struggling to come to terms with his disappearance during the race at the weekend.

“It doesn’t feel real,” his fiancée, Shené Jones, told The Mercury on Monday. “I’m trying to make myself believe that he’s in a hospital somewhere.”

According to sport24, a police dog appears to have identified the general area where the 43-year-old businessman went missing on Saturday.

Udain led the police to an area near the finish line at around 16:00 on Monday.

The dog uses its sense of smell to pick up gases released by bodies underwater. It then swims in a circle to mark the area for divers to search.

According to City Presse, Van Straten’s fiancée is upset with how the organisers handled the situation on Saturday.

Shane Jones said she was “pushed around from pillar to post” when trying to report that Van Straten was missing.

According to for instance Times Live, her sister took to Twitter on Sunday to dispute reports that the organisers were concerned by the fate of her sister’s fiancée.

“It’s disgusting u have a swimmer missing & done nothing to locate him. Not one rep from u have come to update the family. [sic]”

According to The Citizen, police said yesterday that the search for Van Straten would be called off today, if he was not found.