Three people are arrested over the kidnap of South African sport star’s daughter

The family of a kidnapped South African school girl have been forced to deny they were involved in her abduction after it was confirmed that one of the suspected kidnappers was a teacher at her school and was ‘known’ to the family.

Six-year-old Amy-Leigh de Jager’s father Wynand has confirmed that one of the arrested women was the teacher of his son Jayden, 5, at Kollegepark Primary School.

Three people aged between 27 and 50 have now been arrested over in connection with the case following the girl’s safe return to her family. She had been snatched from her mother Angeline’s hands as she dropped her and Jayden at the school gates. 

Formula 1 powerboat champion Wynand told News24: ‘I can confirm that one of the suspects is indeed Jayden’s teacher. She is known to me and my family.’

The family have come under pressure from cruel trolls on social media suggesting that they were involved in the kidnapping of their own daughter. Mr de Jager added: ‘I wish to make it very clear that my family had no hand in this.’ 

Little Amy-Leigh de Jager was the subject of a nationwide manhunt for 19 hours until her abductors, fearing the net was closing in, dropped the girl off in the pitch black on a deserted street corner of Vanderbijlpark, South Africa. 

Amy-Leigh de Jager (pictured) was snatched by a gang outside her school in Johannesburg on Monday, but was found early Tuesday after being abandoned on a street corner

TimesLIVE reported sources from the police investigation had confirmed to them that a woman arrested in a midnight swoop taught at Kollegepark Primary School where the girl was abducted from on Monday.

A separate source who is a family member said one of the people arrested was a ‘very close family friend’ and added ‘the other suspect is also connected to the family’.

Just before midnight on Wednesday the police team swopped on three addresses in the town where she was abducted and arrested a man and two women – one of whom was know to Amy-Leigh’s family.

Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said the suspects were aged between 27 and 50 and said the search for the rest of the gang continues.

He said: ‘Amy-Leigh was released unharmed at about 2.30am on Tuesday morning having been kidnapped at 7.40am on Monday outside her school and we have made three arrests during an intelligence-led operation.

‘We have arrested two women aged 27 and 40 and a 50-year-old man at their homes in Vanderbiljpark and the operation by our specialist teams is continuing and more arrests may follow and we will keep you updated.’

He said the three were the ringleaders and are currently behind bars to appear before Vanderbjilpark Magistrates Court tomorrow after they have finished interrogating them.

Amy-Leigh, who is the daughter of champion F1 powerboat racer Wynand, was abducted in a ‘deliberately targeted’ kidnapping on Monday while at her school.

On Tuesday, a couple who had just left a bar in the town saw the six-year-old crying and shouting for her mother and walked her two miles to the local police station where dad Wynand and mum Angeline were with detectives.

She was not harmed in the nearly day-long ordeal and was quickly reunited with her emotional parents before providing evidence to a team of officers investigating her kidnapping.

Louise Horn, Amy-Leigh’s aunt, told TimesLIVE: ‘She has been found. The people dropped her off in the streets and a woman and her man heard her crying and rushed her to the police station. It was about 2am this morning.

Amy-Leigh (left), who is the daughter F1 racer Wynand de Jager (second left) was grabbed from her mother Angeline de Jager (right) at around 7.40am on Monday morning. Her brother Jayden (front centre) was said to have witnessed the incident

Power boat racer Mr De Jager (pictured above competing) had been asked to pay a two-million rand ransom (£110,000) 

‘Everything is okay, she wasn’t harmed. She also undergone tests at the hospital, so everything is okay. The family is still very heartbroken, but we are just thankful that she is alive.

‘It was the longest 19 hours of our families’ lives and we are really glad she is back with us.’

Louise said that the first thing Amy-Leigh did after being returned was to ask for a burger and to see her brother – five-year-old Jayden. 

‘Angeline is traumatised as is Wynand and it is going to be a long road of recovery for all of them,’ she added.  

Distraught mum-of-two Angeline de Jager had just parked her VW Polo at the school gates to walk her daughter Amy-Leigh and her five-year-old son Jayden inside when four violent kidnappers in balaclavas struck.

Police believe Amy-Leigh was deliberately targeted because they threw her brother aside and ignored all the other children and grabbed the screaming girl who had been gathered up in her terrified mothers’ arms.

Mr de Jager (right) was contacted after his daughter (left) had been taken and has been asked to pay a ransom for her safer return 

Amy-Leigh (left) was snatched from her mother (right) on Monday morning outside her primary school 

A short while later her father Wynand, who is a champion F1 powerboat racer on the international circuit, received a mobile call demanding a 2 million rand ransom (£110,000) for his daughters safe release.

The pretty brown haired and brown eyed schoolgirl was snatched at 7.40am at the Kollegepark Primary School by four black men laying in wait outside the gates of the school in a Toyota Fortuner 4 x 4.

Amy-Leigh was dragged from her distraught mother’s arms and bundled into the Fortuner which then sped off from the school which is in Vanderbijlpark which is just to the south of the city of Johannesburg.

But police told TimesLIVE that none of the £110,000 ransom the kidnappers had been demanding was paid, and that the gang likely panicked after seeing the amount of publicity the case generated. 

Police in South Africa issued an appeal for the return of the youngster (pictured)

Jayden, pictured above with his sister Amy-Leigh was cared for by their aunt, while their parents remained at the police station

Amy-Leigh’s auntie Louise Horn posted at 4am today on her Facebook page: ‘Amy-Leigh is safe with her parents. Thank you Lord. Words cannot describe our praise. There is still a long road but thank you Lord.

‘Thank you for a nation that can pray together. We sincerely appreciate every dear message, call and prayer.’

Parents Angeline and Wynand had been through over 19 hours of agony fearing the worst and it is not known what threats the kidnappers had made if the couple who married in 2014 did not pay up.

The South African Police Service confirmed on Tuesday that she had been found safe and unharmed.

A private investigator who specialises in tracing missing children Wendy Pascoe was called in to work along with hostage negotiators and tracing teams and the SA Crime Intelligence Unit to help trace her.

Wendy told TimesLIVE:’This is not something we usually see with kidnappings and what is odd is that the vehicle wasn’t taken but the child was as usually the child is taken by mistake when a car is hijacked.

Amy-Leigh’s grandfather said before the family left everything to police negotiators (Amy-Leigh pictured above with her mother)

In happier times Amy-Leigh enjoying a trip (right) and with her mother and brother (left)

‘What is also very curious is that the abductors seem to have targeted Amy-Lee as they paid no attention to the other children which tells us that they were waiting for her and they knew who she was,’ she said.

When Amy-Leigh was found her school held a special assembly and released pink balloons of joy up into the sky.

Amy-Lee was wearing a pink dress, white blouse, black leggings and shoes when she was snatched.

South African media reported that police were hunting four black men and are investigating links as to if the kidnappers knew their victim and their daily routine dropping off at the school.

Amy-Leigh’s grandfather Martin Brouwers recounting the kidnapping said:”My daughter was dropping off the kids at school and Angelina was walking them found the side of the car to take them into school.

‘A guy just bumped little Jayden out the way and grabbed Amy-Leigh and jumped into the car and they flew off. Angeline tried to hold onto the car and she couldn’t hold on and got hurt,’ he said.

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