{"id":267545,"date":"2025-10-12T10:35:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T08:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vrystaatkroon\/missing-20-year-old-man-found-deceased-in-mountains\/"},"modified":"2025-10-12T10:36:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T08:36:15","slug":"missing-20-year-old-man-found-deceased-in-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vrystaatkroon\/missing-20-year-old-man-found-deceased-in-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"Missing 20-year-old man found deceased in mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>HARRISMITH <\/strong>&#8211; The 20-year-old Khulekani Bophelo from Harrismith in the Free State, who was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SAPoliceService\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> missing, has been found deceased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This was confirmed by the police in Harrismith on Sunday morning, 12 October. According to Warrant Officer Mmako Mophiring, police spokesperson, Bophelo&#8217;s body was discovered in the mountains at Tshiame B by family members. He was found stuck between rocks with no visible injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bophelo was last seen at home on Thursday, 25 September, wearing grey trousers, black hat, black jacket, and Adidas trainers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mophiring said an inquest is under investigation to determine the cause of his death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2047\" height=\"1430\" data-attachment-id=\"267547\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vrystaatkroon\/missing-20-year-old-man-found-deceased-in-mountains\/khulekani-bophelo\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vrystaatkroon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Khulekani-Bophelo.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2047,1430\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Khulekani Bophelo\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vrystaatkroon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Khulekani-Bophelo-1024x715.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vrystaatkroon.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Khulekani-Bophelo.jpg?fit=1024%2C715&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-267547\" srcset=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vrystaatkroon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Khulekani-Bophelo.jpg 2047w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vrystaatkroon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Khulekani-Bophelo-300x210.jpg 300w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vrystaatkroon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Khulekani-Bophelo-768x537.jpg 768w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vrystaatkroon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Khulekani-Bophelo-1024x715.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vrystaatkroon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Khulekani-Bophelo-1320x922.jpg 1320w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vrystaatkroon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Khulekani-Bophelo-600x419.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2047px) 100vw, 2047px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Khulekani Bophelo (20), who was found deceased. Photo: SAPS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ALSO READ: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/camps-bay-police-confirm-body-found-is-that-of-missing-delft-teen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Camps Bay police confirm body found is that of missing Delft teen<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Authorities confirm the missing man (20) found deceased in mountains is Khulekani Bophelo. The cause of death is under 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