An Eastern Cape mother's harrowing search of more than two years for her missing daughter came to an end on Monday when the DNA test results from a body in the Butterworth mortuary confirmed her worst fears.
Happy Mvimbani was 15 years old when she went missing from her Willowvale home in April 2022 and her mother, Busisiwe has been searching to find closure ever since.
On Monday it was confirmed that Mvimbani's body had been in the mortuary in a frozen state since a day after her disappearance.
In 2022 Busisiwe viewed the bodies of two women, none of which was her daughter.
During another viewing in 2023, the health department followed the process of defrosting bodies for her to identify, but Busisiwe indicated that they did not match that of her daughter.
A similar viewing process was followed in January last year, and in addition, DNA samples were taken from Busisiwe against two bodies found in Willowvale.
In total, she viewed 57 bodies on that day.
The results of the DNA tests were collected on 21 February 2025 and made public on Monday.
Health Department spokesman Siyanda Manana confirmed that a body that had been recovered in the eShixini River matched that of her daughter.
"The body recorded as DR270/2022 is confirmed to be a 99.9% match with Miss Mvimbani.
"After the official handover of the DNA results, Miss Mvimbani was taken to the mortuary, where she confirmed that the body was indeed her daughter," said Manana.
