Missing KZN baby found after week-long search

Police on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast have found a missing two-month-old baby‚ believed to have been kidnapped by a woman in a pink nightgown.

Police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said a 21-year-old woman had been arrested on Monday morning at a school in Msinsini‚ on the south coast.

“The suspect‚ a learner‚ led them to a house in Turton where the baby was found.

“The baby appeared to be in good health and was bottle-fed by the suspect. She is being taken to hospital for a medical assessment.”

The woman is expected to appear in court on Wednesday on a charge of kidnapping.

The baby’s 28-year-old mother was approached by the woman wearing sleepwear at the Umzinto taxi rank last Tuesday‚ claiming she needed help because she was destitute and a victim of abuse.

“The baby’s mother decided to help her and took her to her home in the NPA informal settlement in Umzinto.”

That same evening‚ the woman complained of a headache and asked her to get painkillers from her neighbours.

“Leaving her baby behind‚ the mother went to get her painkillers. (She) returned a short while later to find that the woman and her baby girl had disappeared‚” Mbele said.