A 45-year-old woman is expected to appear in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday on a charge of kidnapping, following the disappearance of an eight-year-old boy in KwaDukuza.
The child went missing on Tuesday while fishing at the Umdloti River with a family friend. Police say he was allegedly lured away by the suspect with the promise of a cold drink.
Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) first responders were alerted after the family friend went to report the incident. According to RUSA spokesperson Prem Balram, the man told officers that a woman who was collecting bottles and scrap metal had walked away with the child when he became distracted.
“Officers searched the entire area and eventually located the woman near the sugarcane plantation. She was placed under arrest, and the child was found near a field moments later,” Balram said.
The boy was safely recovered and police investigations are continuing.