“Happy Birthday” to Cape Town’s missing Dutch gay man
The desperate family of a Dutch gay man who’s been missing in Cape Town for more than 10 months have wished him a happy birthday.
Frank Kater disappeared last year while in treatment at a Cape Town rehab clinic. He left the clinic for an afternoon out on 12 October and never returned, despite not taking his passport or credit and bank cards.
Today (31 August), Kater turns 43, an especially sad day for his family and heartbroken partner, Frank Elshof , who remain clueless as to his whereabouts.
According to Dutch investigator and former police detective Dick Steffen, there have been reports that the missing man has been spotted by homeless people in the city.
Police also believe that he is alive and there is speculation that Kater has chosen not to be found.
Steffen said that in April it had been decided to stop actively looking for Kater to give him an opportunity to come forward.
“But now, on his birthday, it could be a possibility to send him ‘Happy Birthday’ from all his relatives in Holland who are still desperately missing him, his kindness and his jokes,” Steffen said in an e-mail to Mambaonline.
The Dutch man’s family have also pleaded for him to simply let them know if he is alive, even if he chooses not to reunite with them.
Steffen urged anyone who might have any information about Kater, who may now be sporting a beard and long hair, to contact him on info@interludium.net.
This is so sad.
I hope that he is still alive, and I would love to hear his reasons for doing this (If he ran away on purpose obviously)