Outfitter Scott van Zyl (@SS Pro Safaris) missing while hunting out of Chikwaraka Camp in Zimbabwe.
Our prayers go out to the family of PH Scott van Zyl from South Africa, a writer says "I was fortunate enough to go on a safari with him 2 years ago and had a great time. His Family were great and he ran a great operation at SS Prosafais. Today bad news came out to us that he has been missing since yesterday from a hunt in Zimbabwe. There is a search taking place but nothing yet. My heart goes out to his wife and 2 children and hope for a safe return."
Fellow Outfitter Scott van Zyl (@SS Pro Safaris) went missing yesterday while hunting out of Chikwaraka Camp in Zimbabwe. Published on April 8, 2017
Outfitter Scott van Zyl (@SS Pro Safaris) went missing yesterday while hunting out of Chikwaraka Camp in Zimbabwe. Details are sketchy at this point. All we know is that they have been searching for him since last night.
Here with our GoFundMe account :https://funds.gofundme.com/dash…/search-rescue-scott-van-zyl
A helicopter was called in from Harare to aid in the search. This runs at $850/hr. We envisage minimum 7 hours of flying time. The Limpopo Hunters Liaison Forum (LHLF) is pulling members together and asking for donations to fund the chopper search.
A writer states
"I already donated as have many others and so far we've bought roughly 4 hours flying time. If you can find it in your hearts and pocket books, I beg you to assist by means of a small donation towards this cause. Scott has a wife and small children. We have to do everything we can to help him out."
UPDATE #4 (9:44PM South African time): At this current stage there is little to no feedback from the ground. We know that the choppers and major part of the search team will resume their efforts at daybreak tomorrow morning. We will then have more updates so it might get quiet for a while now. Thanks to all the organizations whom all made contributions to the search effort and each and every Outfitter, PH and Individuals and hunters around the world who has opened their hearts to help search for Scott.
Salome de Villiers writes: Here they are waiting for re-fueling, the large helicopter from Harare is not in this picture, these three helicopters are working the Limpopo river on the South African side. Please keep the prayers coming and again i can't thank each and every one enough.
UPDATE #6: Good evening everyone, my apologies for not giving updates today. Most of the search parties are in extremely challenging terrain with little to no mobile/cellphone coverage therefore updates did not come in during the day. The search party is confident they've locked down a search area but daylight caught up with them again. A large part of the day was spent to get the Zimbabwean Police and departments involved and up to date with the progress made yesterday and they have been assisting in the search with extra resources. There will still be searches continuing tonight but the largest part of the search party will stand down till first light tomorrow morning.
UPDATE #10: Feedback from the ground - a lot of hours has been spend today on the ground and in the air. The terrain is extremely difficult to negotiate. Additional help is arriving late tonight from the Zim side to help with the search and rescue. Keep praying for Scott and his family. Everything is in the Lords hands. Everything humanly possible is being done to find Scott. We appreciate your understanding and co-operation.
We want to thank each and every one again for their contributions, prayers and messages of hope to the family and friends.
We would like to urge everybody to stay away from any unconfirmed speculations or rumors as there has been many opinions and inaccurate information shared during the day which only upsets the family and I consider to be unfair to them in this trying time. There is also many media interest about the search and rescue, I would also urge anyone who are approached by the media to refer them into the official LHLF channels of which Mr. Gerhard Vos is the coordinator of this effort.
Thank you again to all the organizations including several SCI chapters and other hunting organizations like the LHLF , ZPHGA (Zimbabwe Professional Hunters and Guides Association), Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, South African Police Service, HPG & all the other organizations involved as mentioned in previous updates.