Seven-year-old Pura Pahlo, who was kidnapped by her biological father, Ray Pahlo, has been found unharmed, her family confirmed on Thursday.

Evan Andreou, Pura’s foster father said they received the news around 06:30 on Thursday.

“Pura’s biological father checked into a guesthouse in Lydenburg, Mpumalanga, on Wednesday. He had Pura and a woman with him. The owner of the guesthouse recognised Pura after she saw her photo on the Internet.”

Andreou said the guesthouse owner immediately contacted the police and Ray was arrested on Thursday morning.

The Andreou family was being escorted by police to Lydenburg where they will be reunited with Pura.

“We are so relieved that she has been found. We barely slept last night, we were just so worried about Pura,” an emotional Andreou said.

Police confirmed that Pura was found in Lydenburg.

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