Stephanie's cousin, Yolanda, right, said the family was battling to come to terms with what had happened.
Image: SUPPLIED
A MOTHER was excited and proud when the woman she had raised as her very own, told her she was boarding a bus to Johannesburg to start a new job.
But exactly a year later, Lena Segals was shocked to learn that 29-year-old Stephanie Segals, whom she had fostered since her teenage years, had never arrived in Johannesburg at all, and had instead travelled to Gqeberha.
There, about 700km from Stellenbosch, she settled in with a man she had met on TikTok, married him, gave birth to a baby girl six weeks ago, and died just nine days later.
Stephanie, affectionately known as Steffie, died of natural causes, according to her death certificate seen by IOL.
Adding to their shock, her family said they could not even attend her funeral because she had converted to Islam after marrying her husband.
Nelson Mandela Bay's Muslim Burial Society chair, Nazier Jobson, said under Islamic custom, she had to be buried the same day.
"We can confirm she was buried on April 15," he said.
"Her Muslim name is Saffa Naidoo."
And now, besides grieving her dead foster daughter and searching for answers, Segals, 65, is also on a desperate quest to find her newborn granddaughter, Aadilah.
Stephanie's cousin, Yolanda, said the family was battling to come to terms with what had happened.
She said Stephanie, who used to work at a Spar in Stellenbosch, left on July 1, 2025.
"Since then, we were under the impression she first visited a guy she was seeing in Franschhoek and that she then went to Johannesburg," Yolanda, a schoolteacher, told IOL.
"We were in contact with her on WhatsApp the whole time, and she sent a lot of voice notes too.
"But we could never call her."
She said that during that time, Stephanie did not post anything on social media.
"That was strange because before she left, she was the TikTok queen, but nonetheless, we were in contact the whole time," Yolanda said.
Yolanda said she did not suspect anything was wrong.
"Just remember, she first told us she was on leave, she worked at Spar, but then she said no, she was visiting a guy she was seeing in Franschhoek," she said.
"Then her story changed again, with her saying she was going to Johannesburg for a new job.
"We said OK, congratulations, and so on, and she said she was so happy and everything was going well."
Yolanda said everything changed when they were contacted on April 15 this year by one Abdul Bilal Naidoo.
Naidoo allegedly told the family on that day that he was her husband, that she had given birth six days earlier, and that she had died.
He also said she had been staying in Gqeberha for the past 11 months.
"We first thought it was a sick joke," she said.
"But it was not a sick joke.
"Bilal dodged our questions and then later said she would be buried the same day because she was now a Muslim.
"It was five shocks to us, one after the other."
Yolanda said that as time went on, they managed to get more information from Naidoo.
He said the baby was born at Dora Nginza Hospital in Gqeberha.
Stephanie then allegedly had postnatal complications and was taken to Livingstone Hospital, also in Gqeberha.
But they allegedly sent her home.
"She then died at his house in Korsten," Yolanda said.
According to provincial health spokesperson Siyanda Manana, Dora Nginza Hospital does have Stephanie on file.
Her details list her as "single", born in 1996, and living in Durban Road in Korsten, Manana told IOL.
Her next of kin is listed as "Naidoo", but with a Stellenbosch address.
Manana said she was discharged on April 8 with a "perfectly healthy baby".
Yolanda said her mother was taking it very hard.
"It was really one hell of a shock," Yolanda said.
"My mother fostered her after our grandparents passed away.
"We all loved Steffie dearly."
She said Stephanie loved social media and had even appeared on TV.
She said Stephanie had appeared on Laat die Potte Prut, a cooking and lifestyle show on the Afrikaans channel VIA.
She also appeared on the TV game show Better Assie Bure.
Yolanda said she felt like "Nancy Drew".
"Nancy Drew" is a fictional teenage detective from the long-running American book series and TV adaptations, known for investigating and solving mysteries.
"We are really trying to make sense of it all," Yolanda said.
"It is truly strange."
When contacted by IOL for comment Naidoo said he was confused as to why Stephanie also never told the family she had gotten married and wanted to know whether there had been a problem between her and her relatives.
He said he was raised on the Cape Flats by his aunt.
He said he now lived in Korsten, Gqeberha, and loved Stephanie dearly and was now trying to raise Aadilah.
"I'm losing my mind completely," he said.
"I would give up my life for her."