The disappearance of Gabriel Batista, a Madeiran businessman from Serra de Água, in South Africa has caused deep distress for his family. A relative told JM by phone that the family has been living through anguish since Batista vanished in the country where he had lived since 1975, after moving there with his parents when the family left Mozambique. According to the same account, the 59-year-old was heading at night to the hotel he owned in Komatipoort, in the South African province of Mpumalanga, when heavy waters hit the area. He is believed to have tried to cross a pontoon submerged by the Komati River, after which the truck he was following was dragged by the current into a dangerous stretch of the river known for crocodiles. Search operations lasted about a week before authorities found a large crocodile, weighing about 600 kilograms, on a small river islet with an unusually swollen abdomen. South African police then carried out a high-risk operation in which Johan Potgieter, Captain of the South African Police Services (SAPS), was suspended by a harness from a helicopter over crocodile-infested waters so the animal could be recovered and examined. The crocodile was taken to the Kruger National Park and opened, where investigators found a finger with a ring allegedly belonging to Gabriel Batista, while DNA tests are now being done to confirm whether the remains are his. During the examination, authorities also found six pairs of shoes, including slippers, sneakers, sandals and a pair of high heels, which they believe had remained inside the animal for a long time, and police are now looking into whether the case may be linked to other disappearances in the region, including the two South African soldiers who went missing there in December 2025.
