Johannesburg – A 26-year-old Northcliff woman, Alex van Heerden, who was allegedly abducted outside her Johannesburg home, has been found safe, about a day after her disappearance sparked a police investigation, according to reports.
TimesLIVE reported that Van Heerden was located on Thursday and has since been reunited with her family.
Police have confirmed her safe return but have not disclosed where she was found or the circumstances surrounding her alleged abduction.
Investigations are continuing, and no arrests had been officially announced by police at the time of publication.
Meanwhile, The Citizen reported that security specialist Mike Bolhuis confirmed she had been found “resting” and was “unharmed” following her rescue.
“We will know more and further details [later],” Bolhuis told the publication, adding that a formal briefing on the case would follow.
Van Heerden was allegedly abducted shortly after arriving home in an Uber from Rosebank on Wednesday evening, the report said.
CCTV footage reportedly showed two armed men confronting her after she exited the e-hailing vehicle. The suspects allegedly robbed the Uber driver of his cellphone before forcing Van Heerden into another vehicle and fleeing the scene.
The incident prompted a large-scale search involving police and private security teams.
Bolhuis said that investigators had already made significant progress.
“I can tell you that the vehicle was recovered as well as suspects arrested,” he said, while cautioning that investigators were withholding further details because “the intense investigation is ongoing.”
He added that his team would continue to support Van Heerden following the ordeal.
“We’ll be the support and dealing with any trauma as well. This is what we do with specialist investigators,” Bolhuis said.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
