PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - The spate of child abductions and attempted kidnappings experienced in the Western Cape over the past month is suspected to have hit the Plettenberg Bay community.

Local police spokesperson Captain Marlene Pieterse confirmed a suspected abduction attempt on the corner of Long and Voortrekker streets in Kranshoek on the outskirts of the town on Friday 7 September.

She said an eight-year-old boy left Kranshoek Primary School at about 13:45 to make his way home. “He noticed a red as well as a white bakkie in the area. There were two boys, a girl, a man and a woman – both with dark complexions – in the vehicles,” Pieterse said.

“One of the boys told him that his mother said they must pick him up from school. The young boy, however, told them they were lying and started to run away.”

Quick escape
She added that it is believed the two bakkies followed the boy, but that he managed to escape by jumping over a wall and running home. He told his mother about the incident, who contacted the police and a detective enquiry was opened for investigation.

At least 13 cases of child abductions and attempted kidnappings have been reported across the province since early August.

The modus operandi in each case proved similar involving the abduction of children walking to or from school. It is uncertain if the incidents are linked, but the Western Cape education department and the police have vowed to deal with the matter urgently.

In the meantime, as a preventative measure, the Plettenberg Bay Crime Prevention Association is encouraging parents to teach their children similar tactics used by the Kranshoek boy.

“Teach them to always be alert as there are bad people with seriously bad intentions everywhere but without instilling fear – just awareness,” says PBCPA operations head Otto Olivier.

Follow these guidelines

• Know your child’s whereabouts at all times and teach them vital information like their name, address, telephone number and other details from an early age. It is also worth teaching them local emergency numbers and how to make calls.
• Teach your children to scream as loudly as possible and that is okay to do so when they are afraid.
• Never leave your children alone in a vehicle even if it is just for few seconds.
• Establish strict procedures for picking children up at school or other places. Teach them to ask for the code word that only you, your child or a trusted relative or friend knows.
• Teach children to never leave home without permission and to have them play away from the street.
• Teach them to never wander off, to avoid lonely places and to steer clear of shortcuts through alleys or deserted places.
• Make notes of birthmarks or other distinguishing features.
• Have your child fingerprinted and store the prints in a safe, easily accessible place in your home.

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