UPDATE: Abandoned newborn found during search for Durban’s missing baby

AN abandoned new born baby was found at the intersection of Palmiet and Spencer Road in Clare Estate around 2.30pm today while police authorities and emergency services were searching for the abducted one-month-old baby who was taken with a hijacked vehicle yesterday.

Chris Botha, spokesman for Netcare 911, said paramedics responded to a call for an abandoned baby who was found under a tree by a passer-by.

“Paramedics arrived at the scene and found the baby boy lying under the tree wrapped in a black T-shirt with the placenta still attached. Paramedics applied cord clamps and then cut the cord to free the baby. The baby was stabilised and cleaned before they transported him to a nearby hospital,” said Botha.

Exact details as to who gave birth to the baby, and why the mother abandoned the child will form part of the police investigation.

Meanwhile, earlier reports from Rescue Care saying that police had called off the search for baby Siwaphiwe, who was abducted during a hijacking yesterday, were misunderstood.

Garrith Jamieson, spokesman of Rescue Care, said the search is still on-going but police, search parties and other authorities will only be acting on positive leads as they come through now.

Lt Col Thulani Zwane said the reports that the search had been called off are not true and police were only taking a short break to refresh themselves as most of them were still in their uniforms they wore from yesterday.

“The SAPS are working very hard. Most of them were still in yesterday’s uniforms and and are exhausted physically and emotionally. They needed a short break to refresh themselves and are currently on standby for any information,” said Zwane.

Rivaaj Ramdas, a member of the Tactical Shooting Team (TST), said news of the hijacking was first shared on the community Safety and Security Whatsapp group, the sister group of the TST group.

Their team of administrators, Shaun HariGobind, Rizan Amed and Babitha Sewpersadh took to social media which led to the community search.

Prem and Vinod Balram from Reaction Unit South Africa also offered their valuable assistance.

“To intensify the search, we had Prem Balram in the helicopter doing an aerial search, we also had certified drone pilots who offered assistance to cover the area.

“The hijacked Toyota Yaris had a tracking device but the mother was not paying for the service. The Tracker company did us a favour by releasing the information due to the circumstances.

“The vehicle was emitting a signal from Stella Road and we tracked the vehicle from Shallcross, Malvern, Stella Road and then we lost signal for quite a while and then picked it up again.

“My thoughts are that during that time of no signal, the hijacker was in a concealed area where he could have left the baby somewhere.

“I want to appeal to everyone to continue the search because the hijacker could have left the child in a township, or with someone who does not have social media, who is not streetwise, not very alert or someone who is economically challenged might have found the baby and taken the baby to a rural clinic who are totally oblivious that this child was the subject of a hijacking. It may take some time for them to make that link and alert the authorities. So it’s important that everyone keeps talking about this issue to create more awareness,” added Ramdas.

 

WATCH: Rivaaj Ramdas of Tactical Shooting Team during an aerial search for Baby Siwaphiwe.