Following the mysterious disappearance and subsequent death of a Linden woman, whose body was found in Sasolburg, an American tourist in Cape Town was taken in for questioning.

Georgie Amy Jacklin (65) went missing last Friday from her Sleepers bed and breakfast in 3rd Avenue.
Linden and Gauteng police issued an alert for a white male with short blond hair, 1.9m tall and very skinny, who they suspected was the last guest to check in to the bed and breakfast. He had alleged he was from the USA.

Lynn Stacey, owner of The Villa Rosa, a bed and breakfast in Seapoint, was aware of Jacklin’s disappearance and the nationwide alert through eBlockwatch, a community safety information forum.

She became suspicious of an American tourist who arrived at her establishment on foot, with no form of identification and one small bag of luggage.

Alarm bells went off when he said he would pay after a few minutes but had not done so two hours later. "At the time I suspected he was trying to avoid making a payment and then realised he fitted the description of the suspect so I contacted the local community policing forum (CPF)," said Stacey.

The chairman of the CPF and a local detective took the tourist in for questioning, explaining it was for routine checks.  However, it turned out that he was a legitimate tourist, who had been in Cape Town at the time of Jacklin's disappearance.

Jacklin was last seen by her daughter at 8pm on Friday at her bed and breakfast, Sleepers in Linden.

According to police, Jacklin's daughter tried to contact her on Saturday without success. When she arrived at the house she found her mother's car and other valuables were missing. Police also confirmed that blood was found outside the house. They are looking for Jacklin’s red Ford Fiesta (old 2003 shape) registration number MGZ641GP. There is no tracking device on the vehicle.

Jacklin's body was identified by her family on Tuesday morning at the Sasolburg Government Mortuary.
Gauteng police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini confirmed that a case of murder and kidnapping was being investigated. "The body was found on Saturday and police are following several leads to identify the suspect(s)," he said.

Dlamini said the body was found with head injuries but it was not yet clear what had happened. "Police are waiting for post-mortem results to establish the exact nature of injuries," he said.

Following this incident eBlockwatch will be giving free panic buttons to all pensioners who have signed up for free membership to the service.

•  Details: www.eblockwatch.co.za