Another statistic got added to the growing number of hijackings this year when a 25-year-old man was hijacked and abducted but an unexpected turn of events led to the recovery of the vehicle as well as the safe return of the driver who was abducted along with the car.
On August 14 the victim’s brother asked him to take his car and buy some ingredients for dinner but when Mr Alex Masia did not return when he was supposed to his brother checked the GPS location of the vehicle and found that it was off course. He immediately informed the tracking company that his brother had been hijacked and dispatched their local partner Mr Henrie Appelgryn who owns a local security company to pursue the stolen Golf GTI.
He got information that the vehicle was travelling on the Verena Road at a high speed and immediately gave chase to catch up. The Golf came to a stop in Dennilton between Verena and Groblersdal according to the tracking information. However the alarm went off soon after indicating that the tracking device had been removed.
The Golf GTI that was recovered in Dennilton after the victim was hijacked.
Mr Appelgryn made haste to reach them in time. He caught up to their last known location and saw the vehicle as well as the three armed robbers run into the bush. When he got closer to the car he saw the victim lying under a bush with his hand and feet bound with cable ties.
“It was a difficult situation because on the one hand I had to keep Alex safe and on the other the robbers could have returned at any moment as they were all apparently armed,” said Mr Appelgryn after explaining the situation. “I tried to keep him calm while I cut the cable ties with a knife,” he added.
The recovery was made just over an hour after the incident was reported. He contacted the Dennilton SAPS for assistance. A case has also been opened with the Witbank SAPS.
Alex and his brother are truly grateful for Mr Appelgryn who went above and beyond.
“Henrie he is a super hero to me and my bother. I want to express my appreciation for saving my brother’s life. I hope South Africa has more people like him,” said the victim’s brother who wishes not to be named.
A fortunate ending to a very unfortunate event that could have ended a lot worse for Alex Masia but although frightened, he returned home unharmed.
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