Authorities called for calm in Klawer on the Cape West Coast following the discovery of human remains at the house of a 56-year-old suspect after the disappearance of a 13-year-old boy last week.

Cape Town police have confirmed the discovery of human remains in a sewage pipe of the man’s residence.

They however still regard the teenager as missing, because the remains have not yet been positively linked to him.

Police say the man is expected to appear in the local magistrate’s court on Monday on a murder charge.

The executive director for the Rural and Farmworkers’ Development Organisation, Billy Claasen, says residents of Klawer should support the boy’s mother and pray for the family.