An elderly South African couple celebrating a milestone birthday at Kruger National Park were found stabbed to death and dumped in a crocodile-infested river, in what authorities say is the first murder of tourists in the park’s century-long history.
Ernst Marais, 71, and his wife Dina, 73, from Mossel Bay on South Africa’s southern coast, were discovered floating in the Limpopo River on Friday, May 22, 2026, by a group of tourists who had stopped to watch a herd of elephants crossing the water at the notorious viewing spot known as Crook’s Corner.
Both victims had their hands tied behind their backs and had been repeatedly stabbed in the upper body before being dragged to the river — nicknamed the “Crocodile River” for the enormous reptiles that populate its waters — and dumped, according to investigators on the scene. Police believe the retirees stumbled upon a gang of poachers who killed them to prevent them from raising the alarm.
A Birthday Trip That Ended in Tragedy
The Marais couple had driven roughly 1,100 miles (roughly 1,800 kilometers) from their home in Mossel Bay to spend a week at the famed game reserve. According to their nephew, Hjalmar van Gessellen, 53, the trip was meant to celebrate Dina’s birthday, which she marked on Tuesday, May 19.
The pair, who had no children, were avid campers and frequent visitors to South Africa’s wild spaces, regularly travelling to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park as well. They also owned a second home in Hoedspruit, near the western boundary of the Kruger.
“They were two soft-hearted people who loved camping. They were very fond of the Kruger National Park, which is why they also had a home in Hoedspruit,” van Gessellen told a local outlet.
The couple had checked into the park on Sunday, May 17, staying in accommodation near Pafuri Gate in the remote northern Pafuri section. They were last seen alive at the Pafuri picnic area on the morning of Wednesday, May 20.
Search Turned Grim Discovery
When camp staff noticed Ernst and Dina had not returned to their accommodation on Wednesday night, concern grew. They were reported missing on the morning of Thursday, May 21, and a full search operation was launched that evening. Initially, rangers hoped the couple had simply gone off-road and broken down after heavy local floods had battered the area.
That hope was extinguished the following morning when tourists at Crook’s Corner spotted the bodies in the water.
“It was hoped that they had gone off road and broken down after heavy local floods somewhere but then we got a call to say two bodies had been found,” a Kruger National Park source said. Rangers pulled the bodies onto the riverbank to await police, emergency medical personnel, and officers from the Border Management Authority.
Crook’s Corner sits at the confluence of the Luvhuvhu and Limpopo rivers, where South Africa meets Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The spot earned its name in the 1880s as a no-man’s land where ivory poachers, gunrunners, slave traders, and fugitives hid from the law.
Manhunt Stretches Across the Border
Limpopo police are investigating two counts of murder and one of hijacking. The couple’s green Ford Ranger double-cab pickup truck was missing from the scene and remains unaccounted for. No arrests have been made.
Lieutenant General Hadebe said that maximum resources have been mobilized to ensure that those responsible are traced and brought to justice. Investigators have a strong suspicion that the suspects are Mozambican and are attempting to follow the trail across the border into the neighbouring country, where unfenced crossings make movement easy for smugglers.
One police source noted that the stolen pickup truck would have been ideal for transporting contraband. South Africa remains the global epicenter of rhino poaching, home to the largest rhino population in the world. Government data showed that 352 rhinos were poached in the country from January to December 2025, with poaching gangs continuing to risk armed confrontations with rangers and police.
Shockwaves Through South African Tourism
Minister Willie Aucamp confirmed that it is the first time in the history of the Kruger National Park that an incident of this nature has been reported. The park, which welcomes roughly one million tourists annually — many from Britain, the United States, and Germany — generates an estimated $406 million each year in tourism revenue.
Park officials expressed fears that the killings could trigger a damaging backlash. “We have never had an incident like this in the history of the Kruger and we are praying that this does not cause a major tourist knee-jerk reaction who decide it is no longer a safe place for them to visit,” a Kruger source said.
Civil rights group AfriForum has labeled the murders a matter of “national importance.” Spokesperson Jacques Broodryk warned that the brutal attack has sparked serious concerns over visitor safety at one of the country’s most iconic destinations.
SANParks has since heightened security across the Pafuri section and the wider Nxanatseni North Region. Anyone with information is urged to contact the investigating officer, Lieutenant Colonel Rodney Ndou, on 082-807-2666 or 082-414-2481.