Missing Doctor: Husband Cries 'Please Help Me Find My Wife'

Monday evening began like any other for Bernard Kofi Agyei Oppong and Dr. Aya Hayfron, a married couple who were at home tending to their 15-month-old son after a long day's work. But the day ended in catastrophe when a flooded bridge washed Oppong’s wife away, leaving a family heartbroken and a community angered by what has become the new normal of Ghana’s weak infrastructure taking lives.

“The whole incident happened so fast,” Oppong told Joy FM’s Daniel Dadzie on the Super Morning Show Wednesday.

On Monday evening around 7PM, Dr. Hayfron, a medical doctor who recently completed her housemanship at Ridge Hospital, left home and headed to church where she was leading a meeting for her congregation’s choir. Oppong says shortly after she left, he fell asleep, but Monday’s torrential downpour woke him. For her safety, he proceeded to call his wife advising her to spend the night at her parent’s house, which was closer to her church. No answer.

The river where Hayfron's vehicle slid away.
An hour later, she called informing him she was trapped at a bridge on Teshie Bush Road, not far away from where they live. He rushed out of the house - leaving behind a crying baby - and into flood waters, in the hope he could help her but saw her car was stuck in floodwaters.

“I was parked about 150 meters away and saw her struggling to get out of the car,” Oppong described. “I was running through the water. I chased after the car but I was blocked by a building.”

He says at some point, the waters were up above his waist level but determined to save her, he swam to her car, where a group of people were attempting to rescue her.

Moments later, he says her vehicle slowly slid into a river with her trapped inside. Helpless, he watched his wife disappear. It was the last time he saw her.

Oppong at the bridge where Hayfron's vehicle drowned.

“It’s hard to describe how I feel,” he said fighting back tears. “At some points, I can’t breathe. My heart aches.”

He says following his wife’s disappearance, he went to the nearest police station requesting for help. They dispatched a search team to locate his wife.

“At 2:30AM I was told there was nothing they could do,” he said. He continued to search for her on his own until 5AM, but his efforts were unsuccessful.

He contacted the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), who told Joy FM Wednesday that the search is ongoing. NADMO’s Deputy Director General, Abu Ramadan wouldn’t specify when they would conclude their search, but said they were doing everything they could to find Hayfron.

Since that interview, the car has been retrieved from the ditch, but her body was not found inside.

“We still don’t know where my wife is,” Oppong cried.

Hayfron’s disappearance has raised questions about whether the bridge will be safe for motorists who will drive on it when future storms hit the area.

Teshie’s Police Superintendent, Peter Yembila, told Joy FM that as far as he knows, the bridge is prone to flooding, and “the authorities will have to look into this.”

Meanwhile, Oppong is urging anyone with any information leading to the reappearance of his wife to contact him immediately.

He describes his wife wore a multi-coloured box-patterned dress in shades of dark blue, purple, red and black. She is fair in complexion and roughly five meters tall. Her hair was combed to the back at the time of her disappearance.

Listen to Oppong’s desperate plea to find his wife here:

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Zaina Adamu | Email: [email protected] | Twitter: @ZainaAdamu