The body found at the base of a cliff on a rocky Hout Bay shore late last month was that of Cody Watkins, the social media influencer who went missing while hiking in the area, police have confirmed.
The cause of death remains unknown as the autopsy report is still outstanding, says Hout Bay police station commander Lieutenant Colonel Jerome Syster.
Police are investigating.
Mr Watkins, 35, was laid to rest, according to Muslim rites, in Heideveld, on Thursday October 7.
It is understood that he had recently embraced Islam and was buried with the name Qaeed Watkins.
Mr Watkins, known on social media as “The Hard Trance Taxi Driver”, was last seen hiking with his girlfriend in Rocket Road, Llandudno, at about 8am on Friday September 24.
He was reported missing on Monday September 27. A body was located on the rocks on Tuesday September 28, but police divers were only able to retrieve it on Wednesday September 29 due to its perilous location (“DNA will tell if body is influencer, say cops,” Sentinel News, October 8, 2021).
At the time, police said the body was “unidentifiable” and DNA tests would be needed to confirm whether it was Mr Watkins.
Those tests had subsequently confirmed Mr Watkins’s death, said Lieutenant Colonel Syster.
Initial doubt over the body’s identity led to rumours circulating on social media, with some clinging to the hope that Mr Watkins, who had a reputation for being something of a prankster, was still alive.
One person wrote: “We know you, man. So please, come out from wherever you are, because we are all worried about you now. LOL. You’re probably laughing yourself stukkend wherever you’re hiding, knowing that so many people are looking for you and you will probably make a video telling the world that you ran the biggest game of hide and seek! Come now man, kom uit!”
When Mr Watkins’s death was confirmed, he posted: “RIP, my brother. RIP, my friend. He who laughs last, laughs the best. The angels are getting a true entertainer now.”
Another social media influencer, Imraan van Kesteren, who is known as “Life with Iemie”, posted: “Rest easy, Cody Watkins, until we meet again.”
Natasha Gallias wrote: “Cody Watkins, you were the most amazing person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and then becoming such an amazing friend and the best person I have ever partied with. You were the life of every party and such a party animal of note. You lived your life to the fullest and were always smiling and never taking a second of your life for granted, and never seeing you sad or upset always made me more positive and happier about my life.”
• A man, believed to be in his 40s, was critically injured on Tuesday night after he fell approximately 25 metres off a cliff on Victoria Road in Llandudno.
Rescue services arrived on the scene to find the man had fallen some distance down a cliff onto the rocks below, according to ER 24’s Russel Meiring.
Medics hiked down to the patient and assessed him, finding that he had sustained numerous injuries and was in a critical condition, Mr Meiring said.
The man was treated before being taken to Groote Schuur Hospital for urgent care.
Local authorities were on the scene for further investigations.
