South African man Deven Naicker, 65, vanishes hours after checking into a Phuket hotel. CCTV captures his last known movements. Six days on, his phone is dead, police have no breakthrough, while his daughter demands answers over a three-day reporting delay.
A South African tourist has vanished without trace in Phuket, just hours after arriving for a holiday postponed by his wife’s death five years earlier. Deven Naicker, 65, was last captured on CCTV leaving his Patong hotel on November 6. Six days later, his telephone remains switched off, his luggage untouched and police have no confirmed sighting. Meanwhile, his daughter is demanding answers over a three-day delay before the hotel reported him missing. Hard of hearing and travelling alone, Naicker remains unaccounted for as police scour CCTV and hospitals. His daughter is stranded in South Africa because of passport issues, while investigators have announced no breakthrough.
A South African tourist has vanished in Phuket after walking out of his Patong hotel just hours after arriving in Thailand. Six days later, police have no confirmed sighting beyond security footage recorded on Friday, November 6.
His luggage remains in his room, his telephone is switched off, and his daughter cannot reach him. Meanwhile, questions are mounting over a three-day delay before the hotel reported his disappearance to police.
Deven Naicker, 65, from Yellowwood Park in Durban, arrived in Phuket for a holiday postponed for five years. He checked into the ASHLEE Plaza Patong Hotel and Spa, with accommodation booked until November 13.
South African tourist disappears hours after Phuket arrival as hotel CCTV records his last sighting
However, his holiday took an abrupt turn that evening. At approximately 6.30 pm, security cameras recorded him leaving the hotel and walking towards nearby markets. He has not been seen in any subsequently confirmed footage.
His daughter, Lavanya Naicker, 35, had spoken to him shortly after he checked into his accommodation. That telephone call was their last confirmed conversation. Since then, repeated attempts to contact him have failed.
His mobile telephone remains unreachable, while a tracking application has stopped providing location updates. Notably, the hotel’s location was the last position recorded by the application.
By Thursday, November 12, Naicker had been missing for six days. Police had not established where he went after leaving the hotel. Nor had investigators confirmed whether he travelled elsewhere in Phuket or remained in the Patong area. His luggage was still in his room, with no publicly confirmed explanation for his disappearance.
Patong Police examine CCTV and check Phuket hospitals but report no confirmed sighting of missing tourist
Patong Police have launched an investigation, assisted by Tourist Police officers. Police Captain Wichayut Damphueak is the investigating officer.
He confirmed that detectives were examining CCTV recordings to reconstruct Naicker’s movements after leaving the hotel. According to The Phuket News, the officer acknowledged that the examination was taking time. Investigators were reviewing footage covering several days, beginning with November 6.
In parallel, police are checking hospitals across Phuket to establish whether Naicker was admitted for treatment. The South African embassy has also been contacted as part of the investigation.
However, no hospital admission involving the missing tourist has been publicly confirmed. Officers have not announced another verified sighting or disclosed evidence establishing his movements beyond the hotel.
Tourist Police have also visited Naicker’s accommodation and examined his room. Their inquiries included searching for information that might identify his intended destinations. Nevertheless, no discovery from that examination has been publicly reported as a breakthrough.
Three-day delay before hotel reports missing South African tourist draws questions from his daughter
The investigation remains centred on the final confirmed hotel footage and information obtained through subsequent inquiries.
The case has also exposed a disputed delay in reporting the disappearance. Hotel security cameras last recorded Naicker on Friday evening, November 6. However, a hotel representative did not submit a formal missing-person report until Monday, November 9. Three days had passed before Patong Police received the complaint.
Lavanya has publicly questioned that delay. She became concerned on Saturday, November 7, after repeatedly failing to contact her father.
Initially, she telephoned the hotel and asked staff to pass on a message requesting an immediate call. When no response came, she contacted the hotel again. Staff subsequently checked his room and examined security recordings.
The footage showed Naicker walking towards nearby markets at approximately 6.30 pm on Friday. Crucially, there was no available recording showing him returning.
His luggage remained in the room, while his daughter continued receiving no response from his telephone. Despite those circumstances, the formal police report was not submitted until Monday.
Hotel reporting delay remains unexplained as Tourist Police join search and South African media report
The hotel’s explanation for the delay has not been independently established. Equally, the available reporting does not confirm whether management breached any legal reporting obligation. The documented sequence nevertheless establishes a three-day interval between the last recorded sighting and the police complaint.
On Tuesday, November 10, Lavanya contacted Thailand’s Tourist Police directly. Officers subsequently became involved and visited the hotel. As part of their inquiries, they examined his room and coordinated with the existing investigation. Patong Police continued reviewing CCTV recordings and contacting hospitals.
The disappearance attracted South African media attention that same day. The Post published details of Lavanya’s attempts to locate her father. Separately, the Sunday Tribune reported the circumstances surrounding his holiday and the family’s concerns. Thai media subsequently carried further accounts of the investigation.
On Wednesday, November 11, The Phuket News identified Police Captain Wichayut Damphueak as the investigating officer.
He confirmed that police were examining security recordings and checking hospitals. By Thursday, November 12, further reporting confirmed that the search remained active. However, there had been no publicly announced breakthrough.
Long-postponed Thailand holiday turns into disappearance after South African widower travels alone
The circumstances surrounding Naicker’s visit have also emerged through his daughter’s account. He originally planned to travel to Thailand in 2021 to celebrate his 60th birthday. However, his wife died shortly before that birthday, prompting him to postpone the holiday. Five years later, he finally made the journey.
Naicker had invited Lavanya to accompany him, but her business commitments prevented her from travelling. Consequently, he arrived in Phuket alone.
Although an experienced traveller, this was reportedly his first holiday without a companion. He had not booked organised excursions or sightseeing activities before leaving South Africa.
Instead, Naicker intended to explore Thailand independently and arrange activities after arriving. That decision has left his family without a detailed itinerary. Investigators have no publicly confirmed excursion bookings identifying where he planned to travel after checking into the hotel. His intended movements on Friday evening remain unknown.
Missing tourist’s hearing difficulties and silent telephone leave police without a confirmed new lead
Another significant detail concerns his hearing and communication difficulties. Lavanya has disclosed that her father is hard of hearing and uncomfortable using modern technology. Those difficulties form part of the information available to police. Meanwhile, his telephone has remained switched off, preventing the family from contacting him.
The tracking application has also stopped updating. Its last recorded location was the hotel, according to his daughter. However, that does not establish whether Naicker was carrying the device when he disappeared. Neither does it confirm where the telephone subsequently went.
Police have not publicly confirmed whether they obtained the device’s last network connection or call records.
Similarly, investigators have disclosed no additional telephone-location evidence. The absence of a confirmed electronic trail leaves the hotel footage as the last publicly verified record of his movements.
On another front, questions remain over CCTV coverage beyond the hotel. Investigators have not announced whether nearby businesses supplied recordings showing Naicker after 6.30 pm. Nor have they identified a confirmed sighting from restaurants, shops or transport operators. Police Captain Wichayut has acknowledged the time required to examine recordings across several days.
Hospital inquiries yield no breakthrough as police disclose no evidence of crime in Phuket disappearance
Hospital checks have also produced no publicly announced result. Police confirmed coordination with medical facilities throughout Phuket. However, the individual hospitals contacted and their responses have not been disclosed. No official statement has established that Naicker received medical treatment after leaving the hotel.
His personal belongings present another unresolved issue. Although his luggage remains in the room, published accounts do not establish what he carried when leaving. There is no confirmation concerning his passport, wallet, bank cards or other essential possessions. Likewise, investigators have not disclosed evidence of suspicious financial transactions.
Police have announced no evidence establishing robbery, kidnapping, assault or another criminal offence.
There has been no confirmed ransom demand, identified suspect or arrest. Importantly, the available evidence establishes a disappearance, not the circumstances that caused it. The investigation has yet to determine what happened after Naicker walked out of the hotel.
Meanwhile, Lavanya remains in South Africa, unable to travel immediately to assist the search. Her passport had expired before her father’s disappearance. She approached South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs seeking emergency travel documentation. However, she was reportedly informed that an emergency passport could not be issued.
Daughter stranded in South Africa by passport problems appeals to Phuket workers for information
Consequently, she applied for a replacement passport and is awaiting the document. Until then, she must coordinate inquiries remotely from South Africa. That involves contacting Thai police, hotel employees and other people who might possess information about her father. Language difficulties have also complicated communication with the authorities involved.
Lavanya is an only child and has described her father as her closest remaining family member. Her mother died in 2021, shortly before Naicker’s planned birthday holiday. The trip he eventually undertook in November 2026 was the same journey postponed after his wife’s death.
In response to the disappearance, Lavanya has appealed directly to people working across Phuket’s tourism industry. She is seeking information from hotel employees, restaurant workers, taxi drivers and tour operators.
The appeal covers anyone who encountered Naicker after approximately 6.30 pm on Friday, November 6. However, no subsequent encounter has been publicly verified.
There are also discrepancies in the identification details published by different newspapers. South African reports generally name the missing man as Deven Naicker. The Phuket News, however, identifies him as Devendren Naicker. Another local account uses Devan. His exact passport name has not been confirmed in the supplied reports.
Separately, the accommodation has been identified under different names. Most sources refer to the ASHLEE hotel or ASHLEE Plaza Patong Hotel and Spa. However, The Phuket News refers to the Bel Air Hotel.
Despite those differences, the principal sequence remains consistent. Naicker arrived in Phuket on Friday, November 6, and contacted his daughter after checking in. At approximately 6.30 pm, security cameras recorded him leaving towards nearby markets. Subsequently, his family lost contact with him, while his luggage remained at the hotel.
Police continue search six days after hotel departure with no further CCTV sighting or confirmed lead
By Saturday, November 7, Lavanya was contacting hotel employees and attempting to establish his whereabouts. On Monday, November 9, a hotel representative finally filed the missing-person report.
Tourist Police joined the investigation after Lavanya contacted them on Tuesday. Police then confirmed CCTV examinations, hospital checks and contact with South African diplomatic officials.
The search has yet to produce another confirmed sighting. Investigators have not disclosed where Naicker went, whether he met anyone or how far he travelled. Furthermore, there has been no public confirmation of additional CCTV evidence establishing his movements after leaving the hotel.
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Lavanya has provided the email address lavanya.naicker@gmail.com for anyone possessing information about her father. Information can also be supplied to Patong Police or Thailand’s Tourist Police on 1155.
As of Thursday, November 12, the police investigation remains active. Six days have passed since Naicker left his Patong hotel, with no confirmed return or subsequent sighting. His telephone remains unreachable, and his daughter is still waiting for replacement travel documents.
Meanwhile, police continue reviewing recordings and checking hospitals. The central, disturbing fact remains unchanged: Deven Naicker walked out of his hotel on November 6 and has not been located.
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