Durban – Camera footage from a shop assisted the Welbedacht community near Chatsworth, south of Durban, to trace and rescue an 8-year-old girl from her alleged kidnapper on Monday.
The incident saw members of the community and the child’s family start a frantic search after the family noticed she was missing.
According to her mother, Zonke Shozi, the Grade 3 pupil was playing with her friends in the road but when she did not return the family panicked. They first went to her friends’ homes to search for her but none of them knew her whereabouts.
The message to search for the girl was spread through community networks.
The search led to a local shop, where the workers remembered seeing a man entering it and buying a packet of snacks for the child. Workers told the mother they were under the impression that it was the child’s father.
“The owner then released footage for us and we saw the man walking out of the shop with the child towards Engonyameni Village, across from Welbedacht. Members of the community followed and saw the man. A chase ensued, but he abandoned the child and ran into the bush. Since it was dark they could not search for him and the community members returned with the child,” said Shozi.
Speaking to the Daily News on Wednesday while at the Chatsworth police station, the mother said that the police had taken a statement from the child and advised her to go and see a doctor for an examination to determine whether she had been sexually assaulted.
In the footage the suspect was wearing short pants and a black T-shirt. He is seen entering the shop, followed by the child, where he bought something then left with her.
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Daily News