Anxiety, trepidation and a sense of helplessness.
These were the raw emotions shared by the father of German tourist Nick Frischke — exactly a month since the 22-year-old vanished after allegedly being robbed on a hiking trail in Cape Town.
André Hallwas shared his anxiety from abroad in a post on Facebook on Wednesday that read: “It’s been exactly a month since Nick last sent me a message.”
There is still no sign of the missing hiker after an extensive search by police, rescue services, volunteers and the local community where he went missing on the Hangberg trail in Hout Bay.
Hallwas remains hopeful for a positive outcome: “And exactly this hope will never go away as long as Nick is not found.”
Melanie Porter, who runs an Airbnb where Nick was staying in Pinelands, believes the young man was planning to take sunset photos from the Sentinel Peak above Hout Bay when he went missing.
Porter told TimesLIVE Premium the mountain-loving Frischke was a keen hiker and appeared to have “fallen in love” with Table Mountain. “It seemed like he had photographed it from almost every angle, and it seems like the trip up to the Sentinel area was to take photos of the sunset from different angles,” she said.
“I didn’t meet him directly, my daughter did. But I communicated with him almost every day and he was enjoying being in Cape Town,” she said, adding he was scheduled to stay another week at the Airbnb.
Frischke never returned from his hike on February 15, but some of his belongings were later found among suspected stolen property — including a credit card, backpack and cellphone.
Five suspects are in custody, facing charges of robbery with aggravated circumstances related to the possession of his belongings.
Porter described Frischke as “very polite”.
“Every day he left his room, it was neatly made, and when they went in there to service the room it was clean. His clothes were packed away. Whenever you spoke to him there was always sincerity, kindness and gentleness. He was clearly a nice guy.”
She believes Frischke was not fully aware that his hiking destination was a known crime hotspot.
“I think he was very innocent, very trusting. The last thing he was worried about was being attacked on the mountain,” Porter said.
Frischke planned to go surfing in the week that he vanished and communicated “every single evening” with his mother, added Porter.
“And when he didn’t get in touch on the Wednesday, she was very concerned and got hold of me.”
She is taking care of the belongings he left behind at the establishment. “A lot of his things were new, Polaroid glasses and a little bag. I suspect he had bought himself a whole kit [for his trip]. I think it was a big deal for him to be out here.”
The five suspects appeared in the Wynberg magistrate’s court on March 6. Ishaan Fisher, Jason Adonis, Melvin Geunantin, Petersen van Roy and Carlo Geunantin will be back in court on May 4.
The investigation continues.
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