Nick F. from Brandenburg enjoys his vacation in South Africa - until he never returns from a hike. Investigators have been looking for the 22-year-old for two weeks now. Eventually, his credit card turns up - and a suspect makes a chilling confession.
On the morning of February 15, Nick F. sets out on a hike in the South African metropolis of Cape Town. The 22-year-old is on his way to Karbonkelberg - a surveillance camera captures the young man on a road that leads to this hiking trail in Table Mountain National Park. Nobody knows at this point that it will be the last trace of the Brandenburger for days. Because Nick F. has not come back from his hike - until today. The South African authorities have been looking for him for two weeks now.
On the day of the disappearance, the Coast Guard suspected that F. had disappeared on the Hangberg Trail between the Cape Town suburb of Hout Bay and Sandy Bay and deployed the Mountain Rescue Service. The search was unsuccessful for days due to the weather. The police are also asking the public for help: Anyone who has seen Nick - thin, 1.75 meters tall, beige T-shirt, backpack - should report immediately. At this point there was great hope that other hikers might have seen the young Brandenburger. Because initially, according to the investigators, it looked as if F. had "gone to the mountains and might have gotten lost". A kidnapping, they said in an interview with "Stern", is rather unlikely, "because there was no contact with the relatives". However, she also makes it clear that the investigations are continuing in all directions.
Nick F.'s concerned family did not remain idle either: from Germany, they organized a search operation on social media immediately after his disappearance. Above all, F.'s brother and his mother make their desperation clear in various posts: "We don't know what to do anymore and think that he is in a helpless situation," writes brother Tom F. on Facebook. Still, he doesn't give up hope. As a paramedic with a dog squadron, he knows that it is rare to save people alive, as he says in an interview with RTL. "But it happens." His mother relies on the support of local residents. "Maybe he is not recognizable because of his injuries, please take a good look everywhere," she writes, adding: "Please keep your eyes and ears open, talk to everyone as much as possible."
From the start, the family considered a voluntary disappearance to be impossible. "There was no reason for Nick to disappear," explains Tom F. RTL. His brother, who arrived in South Africa on February 6, had just finished his studies and wanted to go on vacation. In addition, his brother always informed the family in Germany about his plans. In fact, just a day before his disappearance, the traveler sent his family a selfie from a Cape Town mall. The photo is one of the last facts that can be used to reconstruct the time before the young man's disappearance.
It is also certain that the young man took an Uber from the southern suburb of Hout Bay to the Cape Town district of Hangberg. He never showed up for a surfing course he signed up for a day later. Nick F.'s clothing and many of his valuables can still be found at his guest house in Pinelands. Finally, one more - worrying detail - is known about the young man's hike: Nick F. was traveling alone - in a district that is considered the most dangerous suburb of Cape Town.
Just a few weeks ago, an Israeli tourist was attacked on the hiking trail. Signs at the entrance to the park warn against going on hikes alone, as reported by RTL. Finally, the South African police also confirmed to the broadcaster the high risk in this region. A violent crime, as both Nick F.'s family and the investigators quickly made clear, could never be ruled out during the search.
Finally, the first hint in that direction appeared. After days of unsuccessful searches, investigators find the missing person's credit card - on two men aged 22 and 23 known to the police. It was an accidental find because the card was initially confiscated during a search of a bungalow in Hout Bay after it was stolen, according to the South African news site People's Post. Although the credit card was found near where Nick F. was last seen, investigators initially didn't even connect it to the missing person. "The person has not been reported missing to our police station," Hout Bay Police Officer Jerome Syster told the People's Post. "She was reported missing to another police station." According to RTL, it was only the businessman who was robbed who informed the authorities of the connection to the missing person case.
Last Monday, the twelfth day of the search, the police were finally able to report success: in the case of Nick F., three men were arrested and brought before the judge. You are charged with aggravated robbery. Under South African law, this means a minimum of 15 years in prison. According to RTL, one of the three suspects confessed to being involved in a robbery on Nick F. If the man's information is correct, the Brandenburger was seriously injured. According to the statement, one of the men in this group stabbed F. with a knife.
The suspects' hiking backpack and cell phone were also found, as Eric Ntabazalia from the National Law Enforcement Agency NPA told the German Press Agency dpa. The alleged murder weapon was also seized. However, according to police spokesman André Traut, the police cannot currently confirm any connection between the suspects and the disappearance of the German. It will continue to search for clues. The process will therefore not continue until March 6, 2023, Ntabazalia told dpa. The two young men on whom Nick F.'s credit card was found are accused of complicity, according to RTL. All five suspects were questioned together at Wynberg District Court in Cape Town.
At a protest march organized by the residents of the Hangberg district, the participants asked the alleged perpetrators, according to RTL, to lead the investigators to Nick F. The chance that he is still alive dwindles significantly 13 days after his disappearance. However, his body has not yet been found - the search continues unchanged.
