Man vanishes – family desperate for answers

The South African Police Service has deployed heat-sensing drones, police tracker dogs, divers, and search and rescue teams to locate missing Capetonian Robert Schroder (58), but it looks like he has “vanished without a trace”, says his sister Caryn Tamari.

Tamari flew in from Israel and her brothers, Paul and Selwyn Schroder, came from Australia when they lost touch with their brother on about 11 August while he was attending a music festival near George. They realised something was terribly wrong, especially when his tent and possessions including his old Nokia phone, wallet, medication, and glasses were found at the site. He was seen at the festival on the morning of Sunday, 11 August, but after that, the trail runs cold.

Their mother, renowned matriarch and caterer Naomi Schroder, was a stalwart of the Cape Town Jewish community. “It’s actually her yartzheit tonight, and as we look for Robert, we’re guided by our mom,” says Tamari, speaking to the SA Jewish Report on Monday, 19 August. “We know she would have given a kidney for him, so we’re also doing everything in our power to find him.”

Schroder has had a difficult life, and sometimes felt alienated from a society that didn’t always accept his quirky and larger-than-life character. But when he went missing, it became clear that he has never been alone. Within hours, the Cape Town and international Jewish community rallied to spread the word that he had disappeared, with hundreds of people expressing how important Schroder and his family were to them.

From across the globe, friends and family shared how Schroder always remembered their names and stories, even though he battled mental-health challenges. Tamari says he struggled socially and emotionally from childhood, which increased after he was in a car accident and a coma many years ago.

She emphasises that he was “raised with nothing but love in a good Jewish home”, that he lives independently, and is a well-known figure in the community and around the Mother City. Many friends have fond memories of their time with him at Herzlia school or in the South African army.

Now, as he remains missing, Tamari says she’s grateful to be part of a Jewish community that really cares for its own, from the support her brother receives in managing daily life, including a dedicated social worker, to the outpouring of love and help she and her siblings have been given.

Tamari says her brother didn’t work or drive, but often went to festivals where he would find a sense of belonging with like-minded souls. He had been to this particular festival, Louvain Burn at the Louvain Guest Farm, about four times. The venue is a working farm in the upper Langkloof Valley, halfway between George and Uniondale in the Western Cape.

“Robert was supposed to make contact with our brother, Paul, who manages Robert’s life from Australia, about organising transport back, but that never happened. We soon realised something was wrong. It’s like a movie – he’s just vanished into thin air.

“The police have been phenomenal,” Tamari says. “Every preconception we had about South African police being incompetent is totally untrue. We’re blown away.”

Police have spoken to the farm owners, who are distraught and know Schroder personally, festivalgoers, and locals. Hope flared when people said they may have spotted him in nearby De Rust, but the man in question wasn’t Schroder.

“It’s been a rollercoaster ride and totally surreal, for example, hiking on the mountain behind a police dog, screaming Robert’s name,” says Tamari. “The police say that the search and rescue aspect is now over. It’s now an investigation, and they have brought in a detective.”

The detective, Sergeant Fumanekile Nofemela, cannot comment because the investigation is still underway, but called on anyone with information to come forward.

Schroder’s old friend, David Wapnick, recently crossed paths with Schroder at prayers for a friend’s mother in Cape Town. “Though we hadn’t seen each other for centuries, he quickly recognised me,” says Wapnick, speaking to the SA Jewish Report from London.

Wapnick was sad to realise that Schroder “wasn’t the Robert I knew from our youth”, and could see that life had hit him hard. But he found that Schroder “really held onto old-fashioned values, noticing the details of people’s lives”. For example, when it was Wapnick’s birthday in July, Schroder was one of the few people who wished him from afar.

While in Cape Town, Wapnick gave Schroder a lift home. “He told me he keeps going because he has ‘great support’ and feels like there’s a higher power looking after him from above.” He got the sense Schroder keeps moving forward no matter what life throws at him. He believes his old friend is fine, and perhaps wanted to try living life off the grid.

Another old friend, Paul Chernotsky, also believes Schroder is safe and possibly headed to Jeffreys Bay to watch a surfing competition, or “is somewhere having fun”. He says Schroder is loveable and harmless. “Everyone knows him!”

Tamari agrees that her brother is a “phenomenon on the streets of Cape Town”, making a long-lasting impression on people from all walks of life, and is often seen at Giovanni’s, Newport Deli, or the Company’s Garden. Many people give him rides or buy him a coffee, and see him as a “gentle soul”.

At this point, police are distributing missing-person posters, continuing to question festivalgoers, looking at photographs from the festival, and working with experienced volunteer hiking groups to scour the many walking trails in the area in case Schroder wandered off and fell.

“Before I came to Cape Town, I had no hope,” Tamari says. “But when we got here and contacted the Community Security Organisation [CSO], and saw the effort it put in for us, I felt hopeful again.” The CSO couldn’t comment to the SA Jewish Report because the case is still being investigated.

“And then, the way the community and people around the world have rallied has given us hope,” Tamari says. “Many people say they have Robert in their prayers, and are saying tehillim for him.”

At the same time, Tamari fears her brother wouldn’t survive long in a rural area in the winter cold without his medication or other possessions. “Some people ask if maybe Robert didn’t want to continue living, but he isn’t like that. He always believes in ‘happily ever after’. He’s committed to his family, and he always keeps going. Our faith teaches us to be optimistic, and I believe we’ll find him.”

Anyone with any information can contact the Schroder siblings on 072 488 2940.