Port Elizabeth police have confirmed that the yellow Trek road bike found in heavy bush in the Van Stadens River Gorge on Wednesday was that of missing Motherwell detective Michael van der Watt.
The 35 year old policeman was last seen by a colleague who dropped him off at his Rowallan Park home on Sunday.
Neighbours reported seeing someone in cycling gear leaving his home at around six o'clock on Monday morning.
Colonel Priscilla Naidu told AlgoaFM News that colleagues and family members had identified the bicycle as belonging to Van der Watt but that there was still no sign of the missing policeman.
Colonel Naidu says that at around 11 am on Wednesday, police officers and community members on foot found the bike at the bottom of the Van Stadens River Gorge in thick bushes on the sea-side of the old PPC cement bridge. She said there was no-way it would have been spotted by a police helicopter that had also searched the area.
Colonel Naidu added that the search for Van der Watt had been called off for the day because of heavy rain and inclement weather in the area and that the search would resume on Thursday.
