Rikus Kylander will not be coming home.
The 18‑year‑old from Krugersdorp, Gauteng, disappeared while snorkelling on a matric trip in Mozambique, and after 22 days of desperate searching, his family has made the heart‑wrenching decision to call it off.
“Everything that could be done has been done,” his older sister, Clarise, said in a tearful public statement yesterday afternoon.
Rikus, who had been in matric at Noordheuwel High last year, had been celebrating the end of his school years with friends when he went into the sea around 1pm on December 18 and never came back up.
The group of about 12 had travelled to Ponta do Ouro, a coastal town in Mozambique, arriving just two days before the incident to enjoy the holiday together.
His parents, Anzél and Donovan,…
