The body of a woman who went missing in Pretoria on Thursday, 4 March, was found in the Brits mortuary two days later, only after a tow-in service contacted the family to enquire about the car they had towed away from an accident scene.

The family of June Wittstock (30), a mother of three, discovered on Saturday that she had been in a fatal accident near the Brits toll gate on Thursday night close to midnight, and that her body had been taken to the Brits mortuary. The police and authorities had seemingly failed to contact the family after the accident.

According to private investigator, Koos Gerber of  Mike Bolhuis Investigation, Wittstock went missing after attending a function in Magalieskruin, north of Pretoria, on Thursday night. She left the function at 21:30 and was not seen again. “We suspect she took a wrong turn going onto the highway and drove in the direction of Brits instead of Pretoria. She was in a head-on collision with a truck near Brits and was declared dead on the scene,” he said.

“The scene was cleared and her car towed away.”

The family reported her missing on Friday and a missing person’s case was opened at the Garsfontein police.

“On Saturday, the family received a call from a towing service enquiring what to do with the vehicle. They were then informed Wittstock had died during the accident. They found her body in the Brits mortuary.”

Gerber said it seems that authorities did not attempt to trace the family through the vehicle registration number or other clues that might have been in the vehicle. The car also had a tracker system installed. The towing service traced the family through the registration number on Saturday.

Police spokesperson, Colonel Adele Myburgh said the police are investigating a manslaughter case. “We will investigate allegations that the family was not contacted by the police,” she said.