Grieving family’s ordeal

A Cape Town widow has been forced to relocate provinces with her four children after her husband died while attempting to poach perly.

Caroline Jansen van Vuuren, 37, said her husband Raeburn Jansson, 47, went into the water at Three Anchor Bay last week to poach in order to provide for his family.

They recently lost everything, and social services has been on their case to take their children away from them.

“His children were his life and he wanted to provide for them. Last Sunday we were at the beach and officials had seen us and said they were going to place our children with strangers,” she said.

“Last week Monday I was at court, trying to sort the issue out, and he went diving. I told him not to, but he wanted to make sure we had money.

“When I left court I could not reach him, and walked from the magistrate’s court to the beach with our four children to try and find him, but nothing came of it.”

The mom spent the next three days at the beach, asking any and all canoeists she could see to help her find her husband.

Raeburn’s body was eventually found.

Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said: “SAPS Diving Unit retrieved the body of an unidentified male at Three Anchor Bay, Sea Point with the assistance of NSRI and SAPS Air wing. An inquest case was registered for investigation.”

Caroline said she has since moved to the Northern Cape to start her life over, and register her children in schools, which she unable to do here as every school she contacted was full, she said.

“I am not sure about funeral arrangements yet. His body is still at Salt River mortuary,” she said.

Cape Times