Pretoria baby found at Hillbrow crèche
2012-02-07 12:35
Video
2012-02-08 09:43
The 6-month old Pretoria baby thought to have been kidnapped by his nanny has been found alive and well. Watch as mother and child are reunited. WATCH
Pretoria - A 6-month old Pretoria baby thought to have been kidnapped by his nanny has been found alive and well, Missing Children SA (MCSA) said on Tuesday.
The baby was found safe and unharmed at a crèche in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, on Tuesday morning, MCSA said in a statement.
"The suspect [his nanny] has not been found yet. Police are still looking for her."
The child's aunt received a text message with a telephone number for the crèche, said Lieutenant Colonel Tshisikhawe Ndou.
A woman dropped off the baby, gave the crèche R100 and told staff she would pick up the boy later in the day.
The live-in nanny was believed to have kidnapped her employer's baby on Monday from their home in Hestia Park, Pretoria.
The infant's mother woke up on Monday morning to find the nanny and the baby gone. The 21-year-old Zimbabwean had shared a room with the mother and the baby.
Ndou said a security guard told the mother that the nanny had left with the baby at about 05:00. She told the guard she was taking the baby to the doctor.
The guards alerted the mother who called the police, said Ndou.
Two cellphones, a wallet, a bank card and money were missing from the house.
Ndou said the nanny apparently sent a text message to the mother on Monday asking for a ransom in exchange for the baby's safe return.
Ndou could not confirm a news report that the nanny demanded R45 000 for the baby.
The Pretoria News reported on Tuesday that the nanny had spent weeks planning the alleged crime, erasing photos and videos of herself from the family's cellphones and laptop computer.
According to the report, she had also asked that copies of her asylum papers be returned to her on the pretext that they needed to be updated.
This could not be confirmed by Ndou.
- SAPA
