Kidnapped woman found alive
2008-03-25 12:12
Johannesburg - A 46-year-old woman who was kidnapped during a robbery at her home in Ohrigstad in Limpopo on Saturday night has been found alive, Mpumalanga police said on Tuesday.
"She was abandoned by the robbers about 04:00 on Monday in a remote area just outside Hoedspruit.
"Residents called the police and she was rescued and reunited with her family," said Captain Leonard Hlathi.
He said Hennielene Botha was abducted by three men who ransacked the house at the back of Iketla Lodge, which she co-owns with her husband.
"At the time the husband was at the lodge and came home after 22:00, to find his wife and the family's Toyota Corolla missing. He alerted the police."
Hlathi said 13 tourists with their South African driver were robbed at gunpoint, after their car had broken down near Graskop, by the same robbers about 11:40 on Sunday.
"The tourists heard screams of somebody crying for help from the vehicle's boot which turned out to be the stolen car from the Bothas.
"They could not do anything because they were terrified since they were also being robbed. They informed the police," he said.
Tourists were robbed of their cellphones, cameras, laptops and undisclosed amount of money including US dollars.
Police followed the car with the information which was given by the tourists but did not find it.
No arrests had been made yet and no injuries were reported.
- SAPA