MatieMedia has received information that two Stellenbosch residents, Leila Lees (18) and Ethan Kirkland (19), are believed to be missing.
The couple were last seen leaving The Niche apartment block in Stellenbosch, at around midnight on Friday, 21 October, said Mila Lees, Leila’s sister. Kirkland stays at the apartment block. The two were travelling together in a red Subaru Forester, Lees told MatieMedia.
Leila Lees (left) and Ethan Kirkland (right) were allegedly last seen wearing the clothes in the image above before they went missing, according to Gabriella Zampieri, an administrator of a WhatsApp group dedicated to finding the couple. PHOTO: Supplied/Gabriella Zampieri
Lees filed a missing persons report for Leila at South African Police Service’s (SAPS) Stellenbosch on Saturday at 18:00. A report was filed at around the same time for Kirkland, stated Rocco Elijah, a friend of the couple.
Capt Nathalie Martin, the spokesperson for Stellenbosch SAPS, confirmed that the missing persons reports have been filed and an investigation is underway.
Leila Lees (left) and Ethan Kirkland (right) were reported missing to Stellenbosch SAPS on Saturday evening at around 18:00. The couple were last seen on Friday evening, 21 October, around midnight. PHOTO: Supplied/Emma Pretorius
According to Elijah, the car that the couple was driving in was last seen on security camera footage at 23:45 on Bosman Street on Friday evening.
There are currently over 500 people on a WhatsApp group dedicated to finding the couple, Elijah told MatieMedia.
The couple were last seen leaving The Niche apartment block at around midnight on Friday, 21 October, in a red Subaru Forester. PHOTO: Supplied/Gabriella Zampieri
Kirkland’s father, Paul Midlane, asked that anyone who has seen Kirkland, Lees, or the car they were travelling in since 23:45 on Friday night, 21 October, reach out with information.
Anyone with information can contact Stellenbosch SAPS at 021 809 5000.
*This is a developing story.
By Cody Hansen and William Brederode