School kidnap drama unites Lowvelders
The search was called off after seven hours. The school realised that none of their pupils was missing.
BARBERTON – The mistaken abduction of a little girl on Friday afternoon proved how much Lowvelders care for one another when community members joined the SAPS and security companies to search for her.
Click on the link to see how the story broke: Search launched for unidentified grade one pupil
About seven hours after the alleged incident, the search was called off when it transpired that all of Laerskool Barberton’s pupils had been accounted for.
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According to the principal, Mr Robert Naude, two grade one pupils reported to him that they had seen a school friend being put into a car by two unknown men outside the premises.
It was about 13:30. They said they saw the girl crying from across the road before she was put into a blue VW Polo and driven off. The girls could not identify the girl, but Naude reacted immediately.
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He notified SAPS, Hi-Tech Security in Barberton and Mbombela and Bossies Community Justice (BCJ) which worked together to launch a search.
“We had to act as a responsible institution,” he told Lowvelder. “We are very concerned about the safety of anyone in our school and surroundings.”
The school then promptly started phoning each pupil’s parents. “If we couldn’t reach them over the phone, other parents went to check if their daughters were home,” he said.
Soon after news of the abduction started spreading via social-media groups, Naude started receiving messages of support from concerned people. Some of them hailed from as far as Malalane and other parts of the province.
“The incident was a reminder of how much people care for one another in the community. The support received was massive,” he said.
Concerned community members also joined security workers in the search. They set up roadblocks in Barberton, Low’s Creek and even as far afield as Mbombela, looking for a vehicle that fit the description. Laerskool Barberton was eventually able to determine that no pupil had been reported missing.
“We confirmed with each parent that no child was either missing or suspected to be kidnapped. We are grateful for that,” Naude said.
He explained that he has since been able to determine that what had in fact transpired was that a concerned motorist stopped and gave the crying girl a lift home.
Mr Albert Greyvenstein from BCJ said their interview with the eyewitnesses revealed the girls mistook an act of of kindness.
“The motorist was offering assistance to the little girl and to her friends it played out on the contrary,” he said.
Naude commended the two girls for reporting the incident. “As a school and community, we are obviously extremely relieved at this positive outcome of the situation,” he wrote on Laerskool Barberton’s Facebook page.
“We realise how easily this incident could have had a different aftermath. At the same time, one cannot help but feel humbled by the immediate and effective response, actions and the goodwill of all the people and organisations, and the community involved, in this situation.”
Mpumalanga police spokesman, Brig Leonard Hlathi, was not available for comment at the time of going to press.
