A distraught Heideveld mother took to social media on Monday to plead with parents to keep a close eye on their children after “two women in hijabs” allegedly tried to snatch her two-year-old daughter.
Chantel Claasens made a video for social media in which she appeals to parents, the police and community to be on the lookout for two women driving a “white BMW E46 pretending to sell cupcakes”.
The mom of four girls says she was terrified when she saw her child on the back seat of the car.
According to Chantel, 32, the younger woman, wearing a black salaah top and cream scarf, came to the door, while the older woman, dressed all in black, remained behind the wheel.
CLOSE CALL: The two women pretended to be selling cupcakes in Heideveld
“My father was standing outside with my two-year-old and turned to look at what’s under the foil,” the mom explains.
“The women seemed genuinely nice and we are all about supporting local businesses.
“We wanted to help and my hubby said we can buy the cupcakes which were R5 each.
“I was on the couch when my husband asked why my daughter was on the backseat.”
The shocked mom says when she looked outside, she saw her nine-year-old at the car.
Chantel says at first she thought her daughter was putting her baby sister in the car and yelled at her to stop, but then her daughter replied that she was actually trying to take the child out of the car.
Chantel says she rushed outside and grabbed her two-year-old out of the car.
“I picked my baby up and the two women drove off. I still said to my girls, ‘people will steal you’, and realised only after they sped off that that is what could have happened to us. It’s a nightmare.”
Chantel says she went to the police station to report the would-be kidnappers where a clerk told her there was nothing they could do.
WARNING: Chantel says the women drove in a white BMW E46.
“I was crying and they were dismissing me,” she says angrily.
“I am very careful with my children. It was not a man, but two well-dressed ladies who seemed so innocent.
“The police need to step in and send police vans to patrol. These ladies could have taken my child,” the mother says before breaking down.
Police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Andrè Traut, said Manenberg Police Station management is “investigating the matter internally”.
“Once the mother’s statement has been obtained, the circumstances surrounding the incident will also be investigated criminally,” he said.
Chantel posted her ordeal on social media
Chantel Claasens posted a video on social media to warn mense of ordeal. Video supplied