Cape Town danger areas

[Rouxenator]

That Kromme Rhee stretch of road is due for an upgrade within the next couple of months... a new bridge over the railway line will be constructed to eliminate the level crossing

Nice, I sometimes run on that stretch of road, could do with an upgrade.

[DJR]

Heads up for those riding the Rhodes memorial area. Be on the lookout for this perp wanted for rape. His area of operation was around the footbridge across the M3 and the path that leads to Rhodes Mem. It is an area many of us use to access Table mountain riding. If you see him, PLEASE contact the cops (Capt Brummer 0748616691) or the Groote Schuur Improvement District guards ASAP. See link below for more info. 

 

http://www.msn.com/en-za/news/national/identikit-of-rhodes-memorial-rape-suspect-released/ar-BBq1S7S?li=AAaxc0E&ocid=iehp

Edited February 26, 2016 by DJR

[DJR]

It was reported in the early morning radio news that an arrest was made in connection with one of the the Rhodes Memorial rapes. The suspect must still be linked to the other rapes, but has been linked to robberies in the area. Apparently he was tracked to his hide-out somewhere on the mountain. Anyone with more news? 

[DJR]

OK, found it:

 

How UCT rape suspect was caught
NEWS/CRIME-COURTS /
13 March 2016 at 12:55pm
By: Caryn Dolley

Cape Town - The suspected Rhodes Memorial rapist brazenly walked around UCT’s campus, despite being the focus of an intense manhunt, in the weeks leading up to his arrest on Saturday in a mountainside hideout.

He lived in bushes near popular jogging routes around the famous monument, at times went to a nearby petrol station in Newlands, and is even believed to have charged one of his victim’s stolen cellphones at UCT.

“He was walking around the campus with a UCT T-shirt and a cap,” a source close to the investigation told Weekend Argus.

The 35-year-old man was arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning, after more than four months of desperate attempts to catch him.

He is expected to appear in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

The suspect apparently kept victims’ cellphones, which is eventually what gave his whereabouts away. But this in itself posed problems for investigators.

On Wednesday they were initially baffled when the signal of one rape victim’s stolen cellphone was picked up in Wellington at 4am, and then hours later in Johannesburg.

At first they thought the suspect had fled to Johannesburg, but another victim’s stolen cellphone was then switched on in Cape Town.

A source said the suspect may have intentionally tried to throw investigators off his track by giving a cellphone to someone who was travelling, or stashing it in a car he knew would leave the province.

Since November, five women have been raped and a sixth came close to being raped near Rhodes Memorial.

Four of the five victims were UCT students, and the assaults sparked fear on the campus and in surrounding areas.

Amid the panic, UCT urged students to avoid the Rhodes Memorial area, where extra security was deployed.

On Friday, in another attempt to catch the perpetrator, UCT offered a R100 000 reward for an arrest and conviction.

Police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel André Traut said the suspect arrested early on Saturday faced a rape charge for an attack on November 19, in which a 23-year-old woman was robbed and raped at the bottom of Rhodes Memorial.

“The possibility that the same suspect could be linked to similar cases in the same area is now part of our investigation,” Traut said.

He declined to answer questions about whether the suspect had been traced via cellphones.

“We will not be elaborating on the finer aspects of the suspect’s arrest at this stage.”

Two sources close to the investigation told Weekend Argus that for a month stolen victims’ cellphones, when switched on, were used to pinpoint the suspect’s location.

The Rhodes Memorial suspect had relatives in the Eastern Cape and a sister in Khayelitsha, it emerged, but they had not known his whereabouts.

One cellphone in particular was used to help find the suspect. When different cellphone towers were triggered when the phone was nearby, this was plotted. “He went to the university where he also charged the cellphone,” one source said.

The second source said the movements of this cellphone were plotted. “We triangulated (the suspect) and found he was living in the forest (around Rhodes Memorial).”

Weekend Argus has seen some of the locations that the cellphone signals pinpointed, including a bushy section opposite UCT’s campus, near Rhodes Memorial and at a petrol station in Newlands.

On Tuesday, after the rape of another student, efforts to find the suspect intensified.

The source said on Friday evening investigators worked out the suspect’s likely whereabouts, based on plotting and patterning the movements of that victim’s stolen cellphone.

They believed he would be in a specific section of bush between Rhodes Memorial and UCT.

“At one stage he was 24m (from police and mountain rangers).”

Rangers who knew the terrain well then scoured the area and found him in bush above Rhodes Memorial.

caryn.dolley@inl.co.za

[DJR]

If you ride on Table Mountain or anywhere in the Table Mountain National Park, this is the number to phone if you have any safety issues, or see something or someone suspicious. Put it in your phone.

 

086 110 6417 (SANParks visitor safety)

[Bernard Horn]

Beware of container trucks in Paarden Eiland & harbour entrance.Marine service rd very popular with cyclists on the weekends and on Sat morning early a BMW was taken out by a container truck overtaking causing the BMW to veer out of control and crash into a wall.Shortly after that about 20 cyclists came through.Rather stick to the cycle route .

[Bernard Horn]

Another bike jacking yesterday at 5pm on Cycle route between Paarden eiland and Woodstock.Jackers knew Metro cops would not be out on the cycle route in the rain and took their chance.

Be carefull out there.

[VolkAdik]

I have had to put my work commutes on hold for the next few months, I'd rather lose a bit of fitness/form than lose my belongings or life. Weekend rides and trainer in the week will have to do

[Tubehunter]

Another bike jacking yesterday at 5pm on Cycle route between Paarden eiland and Woodstock.Jackers knew Metro cops would not be out on the cycle route in the rain and took their chance.

Be carefull out there.

 

There's an Argentinian girl who cycle commutes from town to TV every morning and back to town in the afternoon along the cycle lane on her own. I met her at a critical mass ride once. When I used to cycle from TV to town for work I would regularly see her coming by morning and night. Is she still doing this and along this route daily? She could be a serious target with her almost daily routine! 

[devocean]

There's an Argentinian girl who cycle commutes from town to TV every morning and back to town in the afternoon along the cycle lane on her own. I met her at a critical mass ride once. When I used to cycle from TV to town for work I would regularly see her coming by morning and night. Is she still doing this and along this route daily? She could be a serious target with her almost daily routine! 

 

Thanks for your concern Tubehunter, she's back in Argentina at the moment

[devocean]

In peak traffic, I'd say it's pretty safe to get on the N1 to get to marine drive to bypass that Paarden Eiland section. I actually did that yesterday about 5:30pm. Might have been a bit different if I hadn't.

[Tubehunter]

In peak traffic, I'd say it's pretty safe to get on the N1 to get to marine drive to bypass that Paarden Eiland section. I actually did that yesterday about 5:30pm. Might have been a bit different if I hadn't.

 

I ALWAYS use the N1 and dodge the cycle lane for that piece. Even outside of peak hour it's a safer gamble than trying to suss the scene along the railway stretch heading under the N1. Far too many homeless crew living in the bushes along that section of the cycle lane now too, so it's harder to work out the intentions of the crew milling about when you cycle through there now!

 

(Shot for the info on Argentinian lady! Whenever I hear stories about this stretch, she's the first person I think of and then every once in a while when I stay out at my mates who lives in TV and I commute the cycle lanes I see her and assume she's clearly been doing OK!)

Edited May 24, 2016 by Tubehunter

[SCD]

The highway route is actually not so bad. There is a single track on the green strip from the middle harbour entrance right to Paarden Island. Adding a bit of fun to the commute, avoiding the trucks and the pricks

[mikkelz]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153407691305378&set=gm.10154272413714445&type=3

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/324556679444/permalink/10154272413714445/?comment_id=10154272594324445

 

What's that about certain cultures... 

Edited May 24, 2016 by mikkelz

[Bernard Horn]

[Wannabe]

The face of a Bike Jacker, with his "prize".