9 hours ago
Brakpan cops rescue boy (4) abandoned in cold after hijacking
A tense search for a four-year-old boy kidnapped during a hijacking on Wednesday evening ended in a happy reunion.
Brakpan Herald reports that with help from local security teams and CPF patrollers, Brakpan police officers found the child unharmed.
Local SAPS rural safety and sector managers Sergeant Phatudi Mashifane and Constable Zunaid Rustoff were patrolling along the R23 (Heidelberg Road), a notorious hijacking hotspot, when at around 23:00, they came across a family that had been hijacked and kidnapped by three armed men in Kempton Park.
The couple had been left stranded in their vehicle.
'They told the SAPS members that the men left them inside their hijacked VW Polo GTI after the vehicle ran out of petrol on the R23 towards Tsakani, not far from a petrol station,' says Constable Audrey Buthelezi, Brakpan SAPS Sector 1 manager and communications officer.
'The couple was frantic. They informed the officers that one of the hijackers had left with their four-year-old boy.
'The two SAPS members called for backup and started searching the area for the missing child and suspects.
'While searching, the SAPS members and personnel from private security companies were calling out for the child with hope that the child would respond if he heard them.
'The boy responded to one officer's voice, and he was found in the wet and icy bushes alone and unharmed.'
The child was reunited with his parents, and the search continued for the suspects. With the assistance of a drone, the suspect who left with the child was located in the bushes near Dalpark Ext 1.
'The victims positively identified the suspect as the one who left with the boy. The 28-year-old was immediately arrested and detained at the Brakpan Police Station, charged with hijacking and kidnapping.'
He was expected to appear in court within 48 hours.
Brakpan SAPS Vispol commander Colonel Robert Makopo applauded the outstanding rescue efforts of the police members, the CPF patrollers and private security companies.
He further commended the officers for their dedication and vigilance, and their efforts to combat crime. The security companies involved were Secure Tech Security, CP Security and Graphite Security.
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