Police have opened an inquest docket after the body of an unidentified man was recovered from the Caledon River on Sunday, 10 May 2026.
The incident began on Saturday, 9 May 2026, at approximately 18:40, when members of the Ficksburg Community Service Centre received a report of a body trapped among tree branches in the river. A local shepherd who had been herding cattle alerted police after spotting the body floating in a difficult-to-reach section of the water.
The Phuthaditjhaba Police Search and Rescue Unit was mobilized. Due to fading light and a dangerously high water flow, the unit began the recovery operation at daybreak on Sunday, 10 May 2026. After hours of working in the current, the team retrieved the body at approximately 13:40.
The deceased is an unknown male, estimated to be in his mid-forties. He was found wearing a blue overall, was barefoot, and had no visible injuries.