SA family desperately needs help to find missing 26-year-old in Thailand

The family of a 26-year-old South African in Thailand are desperately searching for anybody who may have seen him.  The missing man is Ruan Swanepoel, otherwise known as Swannie or Ru. He was last seen in Witthayu Road in Bangkok and at the Embassy of South Africa in the city. UPDATE: The missing South African in Thailand, Ruan Swanepoel has sadly passed away. 

His cousin Angelique Engelbrecht said in a message to SAPeople:

“Please help us find my cousin Ruan Swanepoel, who went missing in Bangkok, Thailand. Ruan is a South African citizen and is 26 years old. He was born on January 17th, 1997 and has brown hair and hazel/brown eyes. He has a tattoo on his left shoulder that says IXVII.XCVII and a full sleeve tattoo on his right arm. We are extremely worried about his safety and well-being and we desperately need your help.”

Ruan went to Thailand on the 17 February 2023, and was last seen in the Pathum Wan area of Bangkok. (Before that he was in Vietnam working as an English teacher.)

“We received information that my cousin tried to reach out to us for help so that we could help him return back to South Africa (HOME), but did not receive it on time.”

By the time they responded, Ruan had already left. He had borrowed other unknown people’s phones in Thailand to try reach his family.

“As far as we know Ruan does not have a phone as someone told us that he needed to sell it for money for food,” says Angelique. “His phone is disconnected and there has been no movement on social media from his accounts. He needs our help.”

If you have any information about Ruan’s whereabouts or have seen him recently, please contact his family immediately. Details below. You can also contact the local police station, the South African Embassy in Bangkok, or any of the hospitals in the area.

“Please share this post and help us find Ruan. We miss him and want him to come home safely,” says Angelique.

FAMILY CONTACT DETAILS:

ANGELIQUE ENGELBRECHT (COUSIN) – +27 63 340 4800
angelique.engelbrecht1994@gmail.com

MARIAPINA FERRANTE (COUSIN) – +393517050107
mariapina.ferrante@gmail.com

LIEN BENADIE (AUNT) – +27 84 398 0002
lienbenadie31@gmail.com

“If you could help us find him and need more information please let us know,” says Angelique. “Thank You.”

PHOTOS BELOW OF MISSING SOUTH AFRICAN, RUAN SWANEPOEL AND HIS IDENTIFYING TATTOOS