Police have opened an inquest after the decomposed body of an elderly woman was found in a bush‚ next to her wheelchair‚ on Tuesday.
Though her identity is yet to be formally confirmed‚ the body is believed to be that of Rachel Nozikha Sindane‚ who went missing on 15 May from her home in Ga-Rankuwa Zone 21‚ north of Pretoria.
Police said she went missing in her wheelchair since she was a double amputee and had to be driven around.
Police spokesperson Captain Mathews Nkoadi said on 1 June her son reported her missing at the Ga-Rankuwa police station.
"A search was conducted since day one‚ combing most of the bushes next to where she stayed. On Tuesday‚ a passerby noticed a decomposed body of a woman and alerted our members‚" he said.
Nkoadi said a preliminary investigation pointed to a struggle around the spot where the body was found but injuries could not be detected due to the decomposed state of the body.
"The post-mortem will obviously be conducted to determine the real cause of death. A case of inquest has been opened for further investigation and to determine the real identity as well‚ which will also run forensic tests on the wheelchair that was found next to the body‚" he said.
- TimesLIVE
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 
