Unprecedented killing: Officials say this is the first time in Kruger National Park’s history that tourists have been killed in such circumstances.

Search turns tragic: A search ended when other visitors found the bodies near Crook’s Corner, a remote river crossing known for crocodiles.

Investigation underway: Police are investigating murder and hijacking, with the couple’s green Ford Ranger still missing.

Police investigate double murder of tourists in Kruger park

Police confirm double murder in Kruger National Park

Police in Limpopo province confirmed that a 71-year-old man and a woman were found dead in the north of Kruger National Park with severe wounds to the upper body, allegedly inflicted with a sharp object. They had last been seen at the Pafuri picnic site before failing to return to their camp. The couple’s green Ford Ranger is missing, and police have opened two counts of murder and hijacking as part of the investigation. DPA International + 1

Event

Date/Time

Details

Entry into Kruger Park

Sunday, 17 May 2026

Entered via Pafuri Gate in a green Ford Ranger double cab 4×4

Last seen at picnic site

Wednesday, 20 May 2026

Seen at Pafuri picnic site; did not return to camp

Bodies discovered

Friday, 22 May 2026

Found floating in Limpopo River at Crook’s Corner; vehicle missing; multiple stab wounds reported

A first in the park’s history

According to SANParks and Forestry Minister Willie Aucamp, this is the first recorded incident in Kruger National Park involving tourists found dead under such violent circumstances. The park covers over 7,500 square miles and attracts millions of visitors annually. Park officials and the minister have expressed shock and extended condolences to the victims’ families. Daily Mail + 2

Authorities mobilise to track suspects

Police spokesperson Hlulani Mashaba said that significant resources have been committed to finding those responsible and recovering the missing vehicle. The South African Police Service is collaborating closely with Kruger National Park authorities as the inquiry progresses. The crime scene’s location near the borders with Mozambique and Zimbabwe is a factor being considered during the investigation. DPA International + 1

From Pafuri Gate to Crook’s Corner: the victims’ final days

The pair entered the park via the Pafuri Gate on Sunday and were last seen at a picnic site on Wednesday. Their bodies were later found in the Limpopo River at Crook’s Corner, a remote point where the borders of South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique meet, known for its crocodile population. The site’s isolation and history as a haven for illicit activity add complexity to the case.

Murdered couple’s vehicle said to have been found 350km away in Mozambique

Dina and Ernst Marais, the retired couple who were ambushed and murdered in the Kruger National Park. (Supplied)

 

Police are believed to be closing in on the men who brutally murdered an elderly couple in the Kruger National Park on May 20.

The couple’s vehicle was said to have been recovered in Xai Xai, about 200km north of Maputo in Mozambique.

While police declined to comment, saying the cross-border investigation was at a sensitive stage, sources said it was believed several suspects had been questioned.

The bodies of retired couple Ernst and Dina Marais were discovered by tourists in the remote northern region of the park.

Their family has praised police for tracking down their hijacked vehicle and pursuing a swift cross-border investigation.

But in an emotional interview with the Sunday Times this week, the couple’s nephew and family spokesperson, Hjalmer van Gesselen, said they had been horrified by the leaking of graphic footage of the murder scene on social media.

The couple were ambushed at a viewing spot near Crook’s Corner on Wednesday last week. Attackers tied them up, dragged them out of sight, stabbed them to death and dumped their bodies in the Levubu River near the meeting point of the South African, Mozambican and Zimbabwean borders.


(Nolo Moima)
When they failed to return to camp by closing time, SANParks immediately launched a search operation. By Thursday, helicopters had joined the search, which ended on Friday afternoon after tourists looking out over the Levubu River spotted what they initially believed were logs floating in the water. They were bodies.

Van Gesselen said tracing the family to alert them of the tragedy had proved difficult because next-of-kin details are not generally recorded as part of standard park bookings.

The couple had two homes — one in Mossel Bay and a retirement property in Hoedspruit, which they visited frequently.

The authorities eventually found my uncle’s prescription medication and contacted the pharmacy in Mossel Bay and were able to get their address. The police went out to the house, which was locked up and empty, but they managed to speak to the neighbours, who gave them my mom’s details.

“The authorities eventually found my uncle’s prescription medication and contacted the pharmacy in Mossel Bay and were able to get their address,” Van Gesselen said. “The police went out to the house, which was locked up and empty, but they managed to speak to the neighbours, who gave them my mom’s details.”

Police then contacted Annamarie van Gesselen, informing her that her brother, Ernst, and Dina had been murdered.

The family travelled to the Kruger, where they were met by SANParks officials, taken to the crime scene and briefed on what investigators believed had happened. They were told the couple had been tied up and dragged into bushes before being stabbed. Only the vehicle was taken. Ernst still had his binoculars around his neck, while jewellery and watches were untouched.

“In my opinion, the attackers saw them as soft targets and went for their vehicle. It was a green Ford Ranger double cab with a snorkel, so it was something that could drive through rivers and across the border,” Van Gesselen said.

The family said they took comfort in the speed with which investigators traced the hijacked vehicle and began pursuing leads beyond South Africa’s borders.

“We are so glad that they were found by tourists, because even a day later there would have been nothing left. We would still be looking for them, even though their vehicle was found,” said Van Gesselen. He said the vehicle had reportedly been located about 350km away, near Xai Xai.

The killings have rattled tourism operators and shattered assumptions that the remote northern reaches of the park were insulated from cross-border criminal activity.

SANParks spokesperson JP Louw said additional risk mitigation measures were already being rolled out across specific areas of concern in the park’s Nxanatseni North Region.

The measures include deploying additional monitoring and ranger resources and enhancing technology systems to strengthen surveillance and early-warning capabilities.

Operational details could not be disclosed for security reasons, but Louw said existing technology systems had assisted in identifying the vehicle linked to the missing tourists.

Police spokesperson Brig Hlulani Mashaba said “investigations are ongoing and at an advanced stage” but would not confirm what had happened to the Marais’ vehicle or whether arrests had been made.

Nomkhosi Tshabalala, COO of Kruger Lowveld Tourism, said the organisation was urging travellers not to lose confidence in the popular tourism destination.

“Such incidents are extremely rare and not reflective of the overall safety record of the park,” she said.

While the murders were reportedly the first in the park’s 100-year history, roads leading to the reserve have seen previous attacks on tourists. In October 2022, German tourist Jorg Schnarr was shot dead when armed suspects intercepted a vehicle carrying four tourists heading to their lodge.

The Marais case has again placed a spotlight on security in and around the park, which has for years operated as an increasingly militarised conservation zone in response to escalating rhino poaching.

In 2010, soaring demand for rhino horn in East Asia pushed prices above that of gold, according to the Rhino Resource Center, fuelling a dramatic escalation in poaching. Rangers in the Kruger and other national parks were subsequently retrained by military experts, equipped with automatic assault rifles and supported by night-vision technology, drones and military helicopters.