Vietnam - John Bothma, 22, citizen of South Africa, teacher, Ho Chi Minh City, 18 May 2019

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A South African man teaching in Vietnam has disappeared without a trace, leaving his loved ones desperately hoping nothing sinister has happened.

John Bothma, 22, from Gauteng, was last heard from on May 18. He had been visiting a friend in Ho Chi Minh City.

His phone had been off since then and friends and family have been trying to piece together what could have happened.

Bothma had been doing short-team teaching stints since entering the south-east Asian country in November last year, but was hoping to secure a longer contract.

His aunt, Santjie Dixon, who raised him from the age of four, told News24 he decided to travel because he "needed a change".

"I have never seen him so happy," she said from her Roodepoort home where he lived.

The two were very close. She always looked forward to his daily video calls, a chance for her to share in his overseas experience.

"It is quite a shock for us. We are very worried because I last spoke to him around 12 in the afternoon in Vietnam on Saturday 18th May," she said.

No record of leaving borders

"He tried to call me, then there were three missed calls, and then we never heard from him again."

Bothma had apparently told her he wanted to visit Cambodia and scout out possible teaching jobs but did not have enough money, so she transferred some into his bank account.

Vietnamese authorities had no record of him leaving their borders, she said.

His work visa expired on Sunday.

US citizen Jody Kurash, who has been travelling the world for the past few years, told News24 she and Bothma fell in love while teaching together in north Vietnam.

"When the semester finished on May 11, John and I went for a short beach holiday in Da Nang," she said from Poland, where she is working at the moment.

She last heard from him on May 17.

"He stayed that one night at Saigon Hub Hostel, who gave us a lot of information and said he was in good health when he left Saturday morning," she said.

"They said he left the hostel the night before with a middle-aged Vietnamese woman and returned around midnight. Nobody has any idea who she might be."

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They had reported his disappearance to all the relevant authorities and asked that they check with hospitals, prisons, borders and customs.

Hostels were also distributing his missing person's pamphlet.

Kurash said she was inundated with responses but none of them were real leads.

"We were making plans to live together in Vietnam," she said.

"John had a very complicated past but I love him and he was very happy. He was nervous [about the future] but also very excited."

Dirco monitoring, prioritising matter

Dixon said Bothma has a paid flight back to Johannesburg early next month, which was booked a while ago as he needed to "sort some things out at home".

With no other leads to follow, she hoped that he somehow still made it back home.

"We are going to go and wait for him at the airport."

The International Relations and Cooperation department (Dirco) confirmed that Bothma's family had reported his disappearance.

"The SA Embassy in Hanoi has been requested to report it to the Vietnamese authorities with a request for assistance in tracing him," said department spokesperson Ndivhuwo Mabaya.

"This can take some time but our diplomats are monitoring and prioritising the matter."

SA man teaching in Vietnam missing

Another article

Mom of SA man missing in Vietnam hopes, prays for his safe return
 
I hope you’re right, LadyL!

IMO, many of the comments by the aunt and fiancée suggest that there was some kind of legal (criminal?) matter from his “very complicated”past that Bothma was currently dealing with (hence the prepaid return flight to “sort some things out” back in South Africa).

But then again, I’d love to know more about the mysterious woman who apparently showed up with him at his hostel lodgings in Saigon...
 
I am wondering if this could be a voluntary disappearance.

his FB:

https://www.facebook.com/john.bothma.142

Ummm are we allowed to discuss the pictures that have been added to a picture of his?????? The second post of a cat and a dog- look at the comments. Someone posted some distributing pictures 2 days ago

ETA: Those pictures are not JB, he is still missing. Leaving my post up in case anyone else comes across the pictures and thinks the same thing.
 
Ummm are we allowed to discuss the pictures that have been added to a picture of his?????? The second post of a cat and a dog- look at the comments. Someone posted some distributing pictures 2 days ago

ETA: Those pictures are not JB, he is still missing. Leaving my post up in case anyone else comes across the pictures and thinks the same thing.


!!!!

so that's NOT him? why in the world would someone post those when he is missing?!
 
!!!!

so that's NOT him? why in the world would someone post those when he is missing?!

Correct- not him, which I agree was shocking. Confirmation is on the official Find John Bothma group, June 1st post. There are also a couple news articles linked on that post that further prove it was a Dutch tourist that was injured in a mudslide and not JB

Find John Bothma
 
Correct- not him, which I agree was shocking. Confirmation is on the official Find John Bothma group, June 1st post. There are also a couple news articles linked on that post that further prove it was a Dutch tourist that was injured in a mudslide and not JB

Find John Bothma

thank you!

hmm...perhaps someone thought it could be him and posted those pics, but so weird to post them with no context on a missing persons personal fb page.
 
I'm confused. The FB is his but someone posted photos of someone else on his timeline?
 
Hello,
Long time reader, first time poster!

In the missing fb page, there is a post by the aunt that says that John may have been asking around for nitrous balloons and may frequent bars that sell them.

Perhaps this may have lead to an accident, either directly from the nitrous oxide, or a side effect (accident from lack of motor function). Just a thought!
 
Another empty Christmas for the mothers of two sons who are missing in Vietnam
Dec 19, 2020

As South Africans head into the holidays and families are reunited, two mothers will spend this time again without their sons.

Coleen Bothma and Faheema Abrahams live in different cities and come from different backgrounds but what they have in common is that both their sons are missing in Vietnam.

Snip

There haven’t been any sightings of John and no leads to follow.

Snip

“His first Christmas away, two years ago he told me everything that was happening, all the excitement and his plans for New Year.

“And last year he was not here, and this year it is almost Christmas again and he is still not found,” says Bothma.

#more at link
 
My husband is an engineer for a worldwide manufacturing company. He regularly travels to Vietnam. Of all the countries he goes to it's one he feels safe in, though he's careful (doesn't drink other than a nightcap in his hotel room) and doesn't go to any clubs at night. Praying for this young man and his family.
 

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