Elderly Graaff-Reinet Covid-19 patient still missing

EASTERN CAPE NEWS - John Doch (73) from Graaff-Reinet, who tested positive for Covid-19, has gone missing from the isolation facility at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Doch’s sister Maria (67) passed away on 2 June at Midland hospital, and he is one of three family members who tested positive for Covid-19.

Together with his grandchildren, Elrico and Portia, he was taken by ambulance to the facility in Port Elizabeth last Thursday, 4 June.

The next day, the elderly man allegedly walked out of the stadium, and he has not been seen since.

Security camera footage shows Doch being let out of the stadium by an HRG security officer who did not recognise him as a patient, according to a report from the Herald online.

Internal security is handled by M Secure, and according to director Kaashief Niekerk, John was able to walk through the first checkpoint as one of his guards was not at his post.

The Advertiser spoke to Elrico, who is still at the facility, a week after his grandfather went missing. His family is furious. “The way he was dressed, he did not look like an employee —how can the security guard let him just walk out?” he asked. On security footage sent by Elrico, John can be seen wearing a navy jacket over a blue shirt and yellow T-shirt, dark trousers and a black beanie.

A search was mounted in the area immediately after John’s disappearance was reported, and routine searches are being carried out at shelters.

The family is hoping that he will somehow make his way home, but Elrico said that his grandfather had never been to Port Elizabeth before, and suffers from age-related mental confusion.

“The police only opened a case today, a week after he went missing,” said Elrico, adding that the family members were very disappointed that they were not given any information or updates.

Apart from his own safety, there is also concern for the health those who may have been in contact with his grandfather.

Elrico said that he originally contacted the Herald in the hope that someone in PE might have seen his grandfather, and also to expose the lack of the security at the facility. He is coming to the end of his isolation, and asks anyone who has any idea of his grandfather’s whereabouts to contact the local police.

John Doch