Fears British lady, 71, who vanished whereas climbing in South Africa was killed for her physique components for use in witchcraft
A British woman who vanished while hiking in South Africa may have been killed for her body parts to be used in witchcraft rituals, it is feared.
Lorna McSorley, 71, went missing in September after she and her partner of 30 years, 81-year-old Leon, left their hotel to go for a short walk from the Ghost Mountain Inn in the KwaZulu-Natal province to search for local wildlife.
On the walk, Leon found the heat and distance too difficult and left his partner carry on on her own.
He raised the alarm when she failed to return three hours later, with search parties scouring the nearby lake and banks for any sign of her.
To this day, Lorna has still not been heard from. Locals in the region believe she may have been kidnapped and killed for use in ‘muti’ rituals.
‘Muti’ is a type of traditional medicine or magic. Though most ‘muti’ rituals require parts from plants or animals, there are those who believe the most powerful charms and medicines require human body parts.
These spells are often used by those with the wealth and contacts to procure human body part, be they businessmen closing a deal, a gangster wishing to protect themselves or a politician seeking high office.
And KwaZulu-Natal, particularly the region’s north where Lorna went missing, is known for being a hotspot for strong ‘muti’ beliefs that locals told the Times put them above the law.
Lorna (pictured, right) and Leon (pictured, left) were seen at the reception of the Ghost Mountain Inn on September 27
Geoff (pictured, right), Lorna’s brother, said of her possible fate: ‘The poor girl must have been frightened to death.’
Elaine McSorley, 71, and partner Leon, 81, had left their hotel for a short walk in KwaZulu Province to search for local wildlife at a nearby lake (pictured)
Jacob Sabelo Ntshangase, a Zulu culture expert, told the newspaper that body parts from White people and those with albinism are believed by some to bring strength and wealth.
He said that given Lorna had spent so much time on her own in the bush, it was likely that someone had spotted her, called for help and kidnapped her: ‘It would not be a stretch to imagine that this is what happened here.’
The Times reported that several people said a ‘muti’ killing was likely what happened to her.
One man said he knew of a dozen people, including children, who had disappeared in the last three years.
A local official told the newspaper: ‘The biggest danger we know in this area is this “muti”. We are all scared of it.’
Lorna and Leon had arrived by coach at the Ghost Mountain Inn on September 27 2025 at around lunchtime.
CCTV showed the couple at the reception together before they set off on a three-mile walk to a nearby lake at 2.30pm that day.
The pair were keen to make the most of their fortnight-long trip, which was slated to include two days in the legendary Kruger National Park.
But Leon quickly turned back, due to the heat and distance.
Lorna quickly lost her way, reportedly stopping at local farmer Koos Prinsloo’s property to ask for directions.
The couple checked into the Ghost Mountain Inn on September 27 (pictured)
When Elaine failed to return over three hours later he raised the alarm, launching a major search party
Prinsloo, who is the last person to have seen her alive, pointed her in the right direction: ‘She seemed relaxed and said she didn’t want a lift back to the hotel so I went back to my lunch.’
But by 5.30pm, Lorna failed to come back from the walk that should’ve only taken 90 minutes.
After Leon raised the alarm, local police, farmers, volunteers and rangers searched the wider area with dogs, drones and boards until well after dark.
The search area was widened as they failed to find signs of life in the next days. And on October 4, local detectives paused the search, saying they were looking into other leads.
After police halted their search, a private hunt was formed.
This saw the investigation get hold of a ‘dump’ of mobile data, listing devices that connected to a nearby signal tower.
The data indicated that three phone numbers converged on the last map site at around 4.45pm on the day Lorna went missing.
An analysis found that one phone travelled at a car’s speed, while the others moved at a walking pace. One from town, the other from the nearby mountain.
Leon told the Times he blames himself for her disappearance: ‘I have a guilt that, if I hadn’t returned to the hotel and stayed [on the walk] with her, the chances are that nothing would have happened.’
He also said he was shocked by the idea that his partner was killed only for her body to be used in rituals: ‘I never knew that sort of thing existed, but it is a possibility, I suppose, that she was taken away when you bear in mind there is no evidence of her existence.’
And Geoff Sheward, Lorna’s brother, said that while he had imagined several possible outcomes for his sister’s passing, the notion of a ‘muti’ murder was ‘the worst one’ he had heard, adding: ‘The poor girl must have been frightened to death.’
A spokesperson for the UK’s foreign office told the Daily Mail: ‘We are supporting the family of a British woman who is reported missing in South Africa and are in contact with the local authorities.’
