Dina Marais, 73, and Ernst Marais, 71, from Mossel Bay were found stabbed to death in a river in the Pafuri section of Kruger National Park on Friday, 22 May 2026, their green Ford Ranger double cab still missing.
The couple checked into the park on Sunday, 17 May, and were last seen at the Pafuri picnic area on Wednesday morning. When they failed to return to their accommodation as scheduled, a missing persons report was filed. Rangers located their bodies on Friday.
As reported by IOL, investigators are treating the matter as murder and have included hijacking charges given the disappearance of the vehicle.
What investigators found at the Kruger murder scene
Tyre tracks discovered near the crime scene suggest a vehicle was driven through the bush, over a fence and into Mozambique. Authorities have not confirmed whether those tracks belong to the missing Ford Ranger, but the trajectory prompted investigators to alert Mozambican authorities, and sources quoted by a local publication indicated suspects may have crossed the border.
The Limpopo Provincial Police have launched a manhunt. No arrests had been made at the time of publishing. The names of any suspects have not been released, and no motive beyond robbery and hijacking has been established publicly.
The Pafuri region where the murders occurred is located in the far north of the Kruger, close to the Mozambique and Zimbabwe borders. It is one of the park’s more remote sections, characterised by dense riverine bush and limited cellphone signal, conditions that likely delayed both the report of missing persons and the subsequent discovery of the bodies.
How SANParks responded to the Kruger murders
South African National Parks issued a statement confirming additional safety measures have been implemented in the Kruger following the incident.
The agency described the murders as unprecedented in the park’s more than 100-year history, a designation that signals the severity of what occurred even by the standards of crime in South Africa’s conservation areas.
SANParks did not specify the precise nature of the new measures. The Pafuri section, which is accessible via the Pafuri border camp, attracts visitors seeking birdwatching and river walks in a part of the park that sees considerably less foot traffic than the southern zones.
What happens next
The SAPS manhunt remains active. The Ford Ranger is believed to be the key piece of evidence in establishing the movements of those responsible, and investigators will be working to trace it across the Mozambique border if the tyre track evidence holds.
A post-mortem examination will be conducted to confirm the cause of death and establish a more precise timeline for when the couple died.
