6-year-old daughter of F1 powerboat racer found dumped on street corner after she was snatched from mother's arm by four kidnappers
The kidnapped six-year-old daughter of an F1 powerboat champion, who was snatched from her mother's arms outside her school, was found safe. She was dumped on a street corner by her kidnappers in the middle of the night.
Amy-Lee de Jager was found traumatized and in tears by a couple on Tuesday, September 3, early morning — nearly 19 hours after she was kidnapped in Johannesburg, according to a report by Daily Mail.
The child was reunited with her family who called the ordeal the "longest 19 hours of our lives" and shared that they are relieved that she is safe. According to TimesLive, the police shared that none of the £110,000 ransom that the kidnappers had demanded was paid to them. They added that the kidnappers probably panicked after seeing the publicity around the case and dumped her.
A source shared, "Her photo was all over the internet and the news and we think they thought they were better off cutting their losses and ditching Amy-Lee." The child's aunt, Louise Horn also shared that the child was found by people who heard her crying and took her to the police station.
"Everything is okay, she wasn't harmed. She also underwent tests at the hospital, so everything is okay. The family is still very heartbroken, but we are just thankful that she is alive," Horn said.
Louise added that the first thing Amy-Lee asked for upon being returned was a burger and her younger brother, Jayden who is five. The parents of the child are traumatized and have a long road of recovery ahead of them. A spokesman for the police, Brig Vishnu Naidoo shared that the investigation into her disappearance and sudden reappearance is currently ongoing.
Amy-Lee was kidnapped from outside the Kollegepark Primary School in Vanderbijlpark from the arms of her mother at around 7.40 am in the morning. The girl's mother, Angeline suffered a shoulder injury as she struggled to hold on to her screaming child. The child's father, Wynand de Jager, later received a call demanding a ransom of £110,000.
Amy-Lee's grandfather Martin Brouwers shared that the family had relied on police negotiators. A source 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."