Body spotted on Table Mountain believed to be that of missing runner

08 July 2020 - 15:44
By Aron Hyman
Table Mountain blanketed in mist.
Image: Claire Keeton Table Mountain blanketed in mist.

Search and rescue teams believe they have spotted the body of a person fitting the description of Cape Town trail runner Ken Stephen.

The body was spotted on the mountain slopes below Table Mountain’s Africa Face.

“The body of a person who had the same description of clothes as the person who went missing was spotted on the front of the mountain below Africa Face,” said Wilderness Search and Rescue spokesperson Johann Marais.

He said a rescue helicopter was dispatched after rescue teams made the sighting just before 3pm on Wednesday.

Stephen, a 36-year-old trail runner, has been missing since Monday after he reportedly went for a run at about 3pm. Search and rescue teams started the search at midnight on Monday and by Wednesday hundreds of volunteers had joined in.

Marais said his phone was geo-located on the slopes below Lion’s Head throughout the day on Tuesday, but a search of the area above Nettleton Road using dogs and a helicopter proved fruitless.

The spot where his phone was last located is a relatively far distance from where the body was spotted, which is a contour path below a massive piece of sheer cliff below the cable car station.