Abductors snatched a 6-year-old girl from her mother’s arms as they arrived at school before dragging the child away.
Then, they demanded a ransom for the girl’s return.
Amy-Lee de Jager, daughter of a South African power-boat racing champion, was taken outside her school. Her mother, Angeline, suffered a shoulder injury as she tried to fight for her screaming daughter.
The girl’s father, F1 powerboat racer Wynand de Jager, received a phone call from the kidnap gang demanding 2 million rand ($133,000).
Amy-Lee was outside the gates of Kollegepark Primary School in Vanderbijlpark with her 5-year-old brother and mother when the kidnappers in a 4×4 Toyota Fortuner grabbed her.
Authorities believed the girl was targeted as they threw her brother aside and ignored other children.
One witness, Annemarie Pienaar, said to Vaal Weekblad newspaper that she was only 5 yards away from Amy-Lee’s car when she saw the incident.
“I heard a woman screaming, and when I looked up I saw a white Toyota Fortuner and just saw how the mother fell on the ground and saw how the vehicle pulled away or bumped her.
“I could not see the men or, at that stage, a registration number and the windows were blacked out.
“The next moment there was a little boy at the gate screaming. One could see the fear on his face. I picked him up and he just screamed, “My sister, my sister!” I then took him to his class.
“I at first thought it was the mother’s vehicle that was stolen but was then told that they had grabbed the child from her and bundled her into the Fortuner and then drover her away.”
The girl’s grandfather, Martin Brouwers, said that his daughter Angeline was still in shock. “Angeline tried to hold onto the car and she couldn’t hold on and got seriously hurt.”
Someone close to the family added: “You can only imagine what is going through the minds of her mother and father but this was clearly not a random attack and this had been planned.
“The police have been brilliant and are doing all that they can do get her back home safe but it is just terrifying. Amy-Lee is six and defenceless. Her mum and dad are having nightmares.”
A manhunt had been launched, and for anyone with any information that could help get Amy-Lee back to safety, contact the South African Police Service.
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