Popular Durban private investigator, Brad Nathanson has cracked the case of missing Northdene pensioner, Kenneth William Price (74) popularly known as Ken Price, who mysteriously disappeared from his home around the 8th of November 2021.
When a relative in the UK failed to get hold of Price with whom they had regularly been communicating with, they roped in Nathanson to check in on him.
Writing on his socials Nathanson said;
“We went to the house and discovered that it was all closed up. Outside lights were on. All curtains were drawn and windows closed.
We were afforded access to the house through another but the moment that I stepped into the house, it was immediately evident to me that the entrance hall was a crime scene. I checked through the house for a human but there was no trace of life and no body.
We cordoned off the entrance to the house and called for the SAPS and a cadaver dog.
The cadaver dog could not find trace of mortality but confirmed trace of decay”
Nathanson said that Ken was well known in the motor cycle world, especially the XT500.
During the investigation he discovered that three of Ken’s showroom-condition motor-cycles had been stolen amongst other items.
Nathanson said he believed recovering the bikes would give a clue of what happened to Ken Price.
“We questioned a number of suspects whom we believed may have known Ken’s whereabouts or the whereabout of the bikes but nothing. In my mind, I thought I knew who was responsible for Ken’s disappearance but I had no evidence,” said Nathanson.
He said that he posted the missing person on Facebook and information started trickling in. Before the final breakthrough Nathanson said he received 10 calls alerting him of bikes on sale but were proved to be fruitless.
His breakthrough came on 10 May when a reader alerted him of a bike that was candy apple red in colour and up for sale in Durban North.
“I remembered having seen this bike in a pic in my suspect’s garage taken by another. Ken’s bike however was bubblegum blue. This bike was being advertised for sale in Durban North.
“Posing as a buyer I went to inspect the bike on Wednesday 11 May. Imagine my surprise and delight to notice from a chip on the bike’s tank that the colour underneath the candy apple red was indeed bubblegum blue,” said Nathanson.
The next day, Nathanson sought help from SAPS. Together with Captain Digby Thomas of KZN SAPS provincial organised crime unit they went back to the Durban North seller.
“Together, we questioned the seller as to his acquisition of the motor cycle. He explained that he had bought the bike from a foreign national in Shallcross. There were no papers and the seller insisted that he knew nothing of where the bike came from originally.
“Together with the I.O. from SAPS Malvern detectives, we uplifted the motor cycle in Durban North and then went with the seller in search of the foreign national who we found in Shallcross. When asked where he got the bike from, he told us that he had bought the bike from a another man at the other end of Shallcross,” Nathanson explained.
They went in search of the man and found him at his home.
The man said he got the bike from the man Nathanson suspected from the beginning of matter.
Together with SAPS Malvern, the first suspect was questioned and made certain admissions which resulted in the investigators arresting another three suspects and recovering another two of Ken’s bikes along with things taken from Ken’s home.
Nathanson said that four people are custody and investigations are continuing.