The 28-year-old Umzinto mother of a two-month-old baby girl, who is believed to have been kidnapped, is frantic with worry and concerned for the safety and wellbeing of her baby. She pleads for the baby’s safe return. Detective Warrant Officer Rajesh Maharaj of the Umzinto SAPS Detective Service is investigating a case of kidnapping. He appeals to anyone who may have any information that may lead to the recovery of the missing baby, to contact him urgently on 039-974 6500 / 6556, Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or their nearest police station on 10 111.
It is alleged that the mother, who was carrying her baby, was with two friends at the Umzinto taxi rank on Tuesday, 28 August at approximately 14:30 when she was approached by an unknown woman dressed in a pink night gown. The woman called her aside and explained that she was the victim of abuse and was destitute with no place to stay. The baby’s mother decided to help the stranger and took her to her home in the NPA informal settlement in Umzinto. At approximately 20:00, the woman complained of a headache and asked her host to get some painkillers from her neighbours. Leaving her baby behind, the mother went to get the painkillers but returned a short while later to find that the woman she took pity on and her baby-girl had disappeared. The baby’s clinic card, milk formula and feeding bottle were also missing. A search for the missing woman and the baby proved fruitless and the matter was reported to the police.
Warrant Officer Maharaj has reason to believe that the woman may have hitched a ride from the R612 near Courthouse Road up to the N2 freeway from where she could have taken a lift to the Durban area. He appeals to any motorist, who may have given a lift to a woman in a pink gown carrying a baby at about 21:00 on Tuesday night, to contact him urgently. The suspect is in her early twenties and was dressed in a pink night gown, blue denim jacket and a pair of black pumps. Beneath the gown she had on a green and black skirt.