By A Correspondent- A 23 year old Victoria Falls man has gone missing and residents have formed a search party to look for him in the forests amid fears he could have been devoured by wild animals.

Nkosikhona Nyoni went missing on Thursday and residents started searching for him on Saturday after clothes, cellphone and face mask were picked on the edge of Chamabondo National Park near Masuwe River bridge.

No further details have been given about Nyoni. A police report of missing person was filed. Police spokesperson for Matabeleland North Inspector Glory Banda could not readily comment on the issue but police sources closer to the case said a report had been made and a search was ongoing.

Ward 11 councillor Edmore Zhou mobilized residents to go for a search.

“It is our duty to protect each other and we gathered residents to search for him and we will continue with the search until something positive comes out,” he said.

A senior resident, Jonson Ndlovu said: “He has been missing for three days and on Friday a council vehicle went around the whole town announcing that someone was missing. We thank Councillor Zhou who mobilized residents to form search party and we went into the bush today. We couldn’t locate him or find any leads so we will be continuing again tomorrow. We are grateful to residents who participated in the search and wish we continue like that.”

He said locals know each other while the coming in of strangers compromises security.

Over the years, a number of people have gone missing in Victoria Falls and found eaten or killed by wild animals.

On Thursday ZimParks rangers shot down a problem elephant that had been terrorizing residents destroying gardens and water taps