Cop vanishes at end of night shift

A Mamelodi East police officer led her daughters and colleagues on a wild goose chase after she vanished for more than 24 hours.

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Johannesburg - A Mamelodi East police officer led her daughters and colleagues on a panicked wild goose chase after she vanished for more than 24 hours.

On Tuesday morning, the Gauteng SAPS put out a missing persons media release calling for assistance in finding Constable Olga Hlungwane, 32, who disappeared on Monday morning.

At the time, the mother-of-two was last seen around 11am in Mamelodi East Extension 6, where she and her family reside.

The constable was dropped by her colleagues at her home early on Monday morning after a night shift as part of her job within visible policing.

By the time her next night shift arrived on Monday night, she was nowhere to be found. Her cellphone had been left at her home, and officers were unable to contact their usually reliable colleague.

Dlamini said her daughters – aged eight and 15 – left home on Monday morning for school and their mother was at home sleeping. When they arrived back, they panicked after discovering she was gone and hadn’t taken her phone.

While the initial release asked that anyone with information on the missing officer contact the police, a few hours later, another press release revealed the constable had been found. “Constable Hlungwane has been at Muelmed Hospital in Pretoria Central. She had allegedly booked herself without informing her next-of-kin,” it read.

Dlamini said the station commander would hear her explanation before deciding whether to take disciplinary action against her.

shain.germaner@inl.co.za

The Star