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Search for former cop's allegedly murdered wife at Zwartkops unsuccessful

A search for Dawn Basdeo, wife of former Durban police officer Prem Emmanuel Basdeo, at the Zwartkops raceway in Centurion proved unsuccessful over the weekend.

Dawn, 57, was last seen on June 8 at her home in Brooklyn, Pretoria.

Her husband was arrested weeks after the sudden disappearance, and was charged with murder, defeating the ends of justice and perjury. It was alleged that he was not truthful in his initial statement when he reported his wife missing.

Over the weekend, the search organisers said that they had chosen to search at the Zwartkops raceway as it was in the "vicinity in which Prem first took the police to point out her body".

'This is not over'

"[On Saturday] as a group of approximately 100 people – family, friends and volunteers – came together to #SearchforDawn, congregating at 06:00 and finally dispersing after 17:00," a post on the Facebook page "Justice for Dawn" read.

"We covered major ground."

The organisers said that they were "truly humbled" by the support shown, although they remained "saddened not to have been able to give the family Dawn back".

Yet, the organisers asserted: "This is not over. We are determined to get #JusticeforDawn."

Previously, the family was granted permission by the police to conduct their own search for her body.

Earlier this week, police spokesperson Captain Colette Weilbach said there were no new leads or information from the investigation that led to the search initiative of the family.


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