NATIONAL NEWS - A teenager from Hartbeespoort was kidnapped from his family’s smallholding on Saturday evening after he presumably surprised suspected thieves.
According to Kormorant, the traumatised Anrich Vermeulen (17) was found late Saturday night, with wires tied tightly around his neck, after calling for help at a farm gate between Hartbeespoort and Brits.
Confrontation turns violent
Anrich was inspecting the fence on his family’s smallholding around 17:00 when he was overpowered. The family was away for the day, and upon their return, they found the electric fence to be faulty.
“I went down to the fence a distance away from the house with a blank firearm to look at the fence. Suddenly, four men appeared and came for me. I fired three shots to scare them off, but they grabbed me and forced me into a white vehicle,” a still-shaken Anrich said on Sunday.
Search-and-rescue effort
Anrich’s mother, Charmaine, heard the shots and rushed to the fence. “My son’s shoes, cellphone and the rifle were on the ground and he was missing. I was terrified.”
A large-scale search ensued by security companies and neighbourhood watch members using drones and dogs.
Chilling ordeal in captivity
Meanwhile, the suspects drove Anrich to a rural area between Hartbeespoort and Brits, where they stopped.
“They told me to keep quiet or they would cut out my heart and force me to eat it. I don’t know how long we drove for. They dragged me out of the car and forced me into a borehole pump enclosure. They tied wires around my neck and then tied me to a pipe. I thought they were going to kill me, but they left,” he said.
After struggling for what seemed like hours, Anrich managed to free himself and, with the wire still around his neck, ran to the nearest farm. “I remember climbing over a fence and then coming to a farm gate where I screamed for help.”
Found and safe
The farm owners heard calls for help around 22:30 and went to investigate.
“We found this traumatised boy with wires around his neck sitting at the gate and crying uncontrollably,” Riekie Ferreira said. “We cut the wires from his neck and called Afriforum’s Brits Neighbourhood Watch for assistance. A neighbourhood watch member took him to Hartbeespoort Police Station.”
Charmaine was contacted and told to meet her son at the police station. “I cannot describe the feeling when I heard my son was safe. I was so terrified,” she said.
She added that a kidnapping case was opened at Hartbeespoort Police Station.
“I just want to thank PWV Security, SECRA Security, Afriforum neighbourhood watch, CERT and Alta and Riekie who took him in. You don’t know how thankful I am for your assistance in finding my son. Thank you so much,” Charmaine said.
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