Two cops have reunited a Delft mother with her mentally challenged son, who was found in Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland) six years after his disappearance.
The two Delft police officers raised funds and used their own vehicles to drive to the landlocked country to fetch Denzil Daniels, 35, of The Hague.
Denzil went missing while he was out shopping with his father.
For six long years, his distraught family searched morgues, hospitals and malls for Denzil, but they were never able to track him down.
During that time, Denzil’s brother and father both passed away and his grieving mom, Jane, even held a memorial service for her missing son, believing he had died, in order to get some kind of closure.
Jane Daniels with officer Mikey Daniels
But in a miraculous turn of events last month, Jane received a phone call to say that Denzil was in fact alive and well, although he was thousands of kilometers away from home.
Eswatini police had found Denzil rummaging through dirt bins at a supermarket looking for food, disorientated and rambling incoherently.
They questioned him, and managed to find out that he was in fact from Delft in Cape Town and had gotten hopelessly lost.
Delft Community Policing Forum spokesperson, Pastor Charles George, says in an act of beautiful charity, the Eswatini cops picked up the phone and called Delft Police Station, saying they had an illegal immigrant who needed to be deported.
This is where Sergeant Mikey Daniels, who deals with missing persons cases at Delft Police Station, and Constable Emile Faro became involved.
Denzil with the police offices, Mikey Daniels, Emile Faro, who tracked him.
Picture: Eyewitness News
Pastor George says the cops were determined to help, and approached donors to raise funds to make the 1700km journey to Swaziland.
“We sat down thinking how he can be brought back home. Then the Gift of the Givers, a private donor and a tourism company at the V&A Waterfront donated over R30 000," says the holy man.
Pastor George says the officers and Jane were overwhelmed by the humanity the Eswatini cops showed Denzil.
“We want to thank the Swazi police, they were extremely helpful. The constables at the police station washed him and shaved him and clothed him," he says.
Jane and the two cops, who traveled in their private capacity, met Denzil and Eswatini officers at the border.
Sergeant Daniels says he is grateful for everyone’s support and it was wonderful to see Denzil recognise his mom after so many years.
“At times we wanted to give up, the road was never-ending (raising the funds) but we had God and the community on our side. We are happy we could be part of reunion,” he says.
An overwhelmed Jane clutched her son and wouldn’t let go when she finally saw him.
The mom and son hugged and kissed and cried.
Jane Daniels celebrates the return of her son, Denzil Daniels, who went missing six years ago Photographer: Armand Hough/African News Agency(ANA)
A tearful Jane says her prayers of finding her son, or at least knowing what happened to him, have been answered.
“I am thankful to God,” the mom says.
“I have buried a son and a husband during this time. My son Denver was 23 when he was hit by a car and I found his body in the morgue in 2013.
“I told myself to keep trusting in God because he would carry us through.
“God sent these two police officers on my path and I want to say thank you to them for making the commitment and sacrifice,” she adds.
They were expected to arrive back home in Delft by Sunday.
Jane says their next challenge would be trying to find out how Denzil disappeared and how he has survived on his own for six years.
“When I saw Denzil, he said he didn’t even know how he got to Eswatini,” she adds.