A woman attempted to kidnap a child in broad daylight at a Ladysmith shopping mall yesterday afternoon (Monday, November 17).

A Muslim mother and her 4-year-old daughter were shopping in the Oval, accompanied by a close friend of the mother. They were looking at clothing… and in what they describe as a blink of an eye, the 4-year-old girl was gone.

Thinking the child was playing hide and seek, they searched the shop. However, when they realised that the little girl was not in the shop, they both ran out of the shop, screaming the little girl’s name.

Other shoppers told them they had seen an African woman running towards the Murchison Mall with a screaming Indian child.

Fearing the worst, the women ran towards the Murchison Mall and much to their relief, they spotted a security guard bringing the little girl towards them.

He had realised something was wrong, as the little girl was screaming at the top of her lungs for help. The security guard heard the screams and went to the girl’s rescue. The African woman let the kid go and made a run for it, disappearing into the crowd. The security guard saw that the girl had been abandoned at the pedestrian crossing robots leading across to the Murchison Mall.

The family and the little girl are traumatised by the incident.

The name of the girl and the family are known to the Ladysmith Gazette.

Social media sites are abuzz with warning messages.