South African investigators looking into the 24-hour disappearance of a Maltese doctor in Cape Town on Wednesday have ruled out that he had been abducted and confirmed that he was totally unharmed.

Sources close to the South African police told Times of Malta that they were still looking into what had caused the doctor to leave the conference he was attending.

“He was found safe and unharmed with no physical injuries, and he was reunited with his colleagues and friends,” a senior police source told Times of Malta when contacted on Friday. “There was no abduction,” he added.

Asked whether Corso could leave South Africa immediately or had to stay there as part of the investigation, Times of Malta was referred to the official authorities with the questions.

Stefano Corso, a 29-year-old doctor, went missing after failing to return to the conference room following a walk outdoors.

According to the police, the medic was last seen on Wednesday at around 3.35pm, during the medical seminar he was attending in Paarden Island.

Cape Town police spokesperson Captain Frederick van Wyk told the media that the doctor momentarily stepped out of the conference hall to answer a phone call but mysteriously never returned to the seminar.

Missing persons case filed on Thursday

Realising he was absent, his fellow colleagues tried reaching him via phone calls, all of which went unanswered. They then filed a missing persons case at the Maitland precinct on Thursday.

He was located after a few hours after the police in Cape Town had turned to the public for help in solving the mysterious disappearance of the Maltese doctor.

He was found in an area known as Metro and was returning to Maitland, where he was based and where he was attending the medical conference.

When contacted on Friday, Corso’s family asked for privacy and thanked the media attention for helping find their loved one.

“Thank you for your interest in the case. The interest of the media has helped in the search efforts to find Stefano. We are grateful for this,” a family member told Times of Malta.

“At this stage, we are all still in shock and we hope that you can understand that the family wishes privacy and time to understand what has happened,” he continued.