Child snatcher scare
SUNDOWNER – A woman allegedly tried to kidnap two girls (3) and (5).
A woman allegedly tried to kidnap two girls at Curro Aurora Private School in Sundowner, on 13 March.
A red-haired woman who appeared to be about 60 years-old approached Debbie Fendick, a parent of two girls (3) and (5), and enquired about her children.
“She asked me if she could talk to me and I said no I was in a hurry,” Fendick said. “She was very persistent and kept saying ‘but I can talk to you while you put them in the car, wow they are beautiful children’.”
The woman asked Fendick if her oldest daughter was about five years-old, which she found “very unsettling”.
As her five year-old ran to the other side of the car Fendick became frightened.
“I shouted ‘no’ to her, at which point the woman followed her to the other side of the car which to me was an indication she wanted her. The security guard immediately rushed over and apprehended her…she left the property straight away and got into the passenger side of a 4X4.”
Fendick believes she was an easy target because she was trying to put her children in the car and she said she is grateful to the guard.
Following the incident various alterations of the story and rumours of previous incidents at schools and restaurants in the area abounded on social media.
In response, Honeydew police spokesperson Warrant Officer Karen Jacobs said no children had been reported missing or kidnapped at the station, but the police would investigate all the allegations.
A representative of the school, who did not wish to be named, claimed the incident was not severe, and this was why the school did not open a case with the police.
“There was no snatching or grabbing,” she said. “The woman walked away and there was no reason to report the incident to the police.”
According to Crime States SA, five kidnappings occurred in Randburg in 2013, 10 occurred in 2012 and three occurred in 2011.
According to police statistics, about 3 900 people were kidnapped in South Africa in 2012 and about 3 600 people were kidnapped in 2011.
According to People Search and Rescue Unit, South Africa has the fifth highest number of human trafficking incidents in the world.
The Unit has also worked on 176 missing persons cases across the country and 59 percent involved people up to the age of 20.
Details: Curro Aurora Private School 011 795 7100, Honeydew police 011 801 8613/4/5.
