Retired Couple Found Stabbed to Death in Crocodile-Infested River After Dream Safari Turns Into Nightmare

A retired married couple’s dream safari ended in horror after they were found stabbed to death and dumped in a crocodile-infested river inside one of South Africa’s most famous national parks.

Ernst Marais, 71, and his wife Dina Marais, 73, were discovered early Friday in the Limpopo River inside Kruger National Park, a massive 7,579-square-mile wildlife reserve known for elephants, lions, leopards — and crocodiles.

The couple had been stabbed multiple times. Their hands were reportedly bound behind their backs.

Even more chilling, authorities believe the pair may have been murdered after accidentally crossing paths with poachers.

The horrifying discovery was made by a group of tourists who had gone to the river hoping to watch a herd of elephants cross. Instead, they spotted two bodies floating in the water and immediately alerted authorities.

The Maraises had traveled more than 1,100 miles from their retirement village in Mossel Bay to spend a week at the world-famous safari park. But when they failed to return, a maid at their safari camp reported them missing on Thursday morning.

At first, there was hope the couple had simply broken down or gotten stranded after heavy flooding in the area.

“It was hoped that they had gone off the road and broken down after heavy local floods somewhere,” a national park source said. “But then we got a call to say two bodies had been found.”

That hope quickly turned into horror.

“Both had been stabbed in what was clearly a very brutal attack and had been thrown into the river no doubt for the crocs,” the source said.

Their four-by-four vehicle was also missing, raising fears that whoever killed them may have stolen it to transport illegal goods or escape the park.

“This is a very major incident for us,” the source added. “This is an extremely safe national park and this has shocked us all.”

Police are now reportedly investigating whether Ernst and Dina stumbled upon a gang of poachers operating inside the park.

A South African police source said investigators believe the couple may have seen something they were never supposed to see.

The source claimed the killers stabbed the retired couple repeatedly in the upper body, tied their hands behind their backs, dragged them to the river and dumped them in the water.

“Their pick-up truck would have been an easy way to transport anything they were carrying if they were smugglers,” the source said, adding that there are unfenced routes across the river into Mozambique.

Authorities have launched a major manhunt, with investigators working on the theory that the killers may have already fled Kruger National Park.

“A large manhunt is underway focusing on the assumption they are already out of the Kruger,” the source said.

The murders have left residents at the couple’s retirement community devastated.

A neighbor said Ernst and Dina loved going on safari and regularly visited the region. The couple also reportedly owned another home on a wildlife estate near Kruger, in an area known as the Valley of the Elephants.

The neighbor recalled police knocking on the couple’s door Friday morning, before their bodies had been identified, to see whether they had returned home early.

“The police came knocking on their door Friday morning to see if they had returned from Kruger early,” the neighbor said. “Then we heard Ernst and Dina had been found dead.”

The neighbor described the slain retirees as a warm, adventurous couple who loved the outdoors.

“They were a lovely couple who loved going on safari,” she said. “The residents are all in shock.”

What was supposed to be a peaceful getaway in one of Africa’s most iconic wildlife destinations has now become the center of a brutal double-murder investigation — one that may expose a darker criminal underworld operating along the park’s remote borders.