A Lavender Hill family is pleading for help to find their mother who was kidnapped at gunpoint by a group of masked men last week.
The worried family of mom Charlene Josephs, 57, say they have been left baffled and shocked by the incident which saw the kidnappers enter her home while she was watching TV and snatch her under the cover of darkness.
According to a relative, who asked not to be named for safety reasons, the shocking incident on Wednesday has seen the family embark on a frantic search which has yielded no results.
The family member says: "Charlene is a mom of two sons and stays with her husband who is frail. On the night that they took her, her oldest son was at my house and said he had a bad feeling and wanted to go see his mother.
“I got such a fright when he came back and reported that she had been kidnapped. We made contact with the police and have been searching all over."
Police spokesperson, Captain FC van Wyk, says Steenberg police opened a kidnapping case and confirms the mom was snatched from her home in St Bartholomew Street just before 9pm on 10 July.
Van Wyk reports: "According to reports, SAPS members attended to a complaint of a kidnapping at the mentioned address, where it was reported that the occupants were in front of the TV when the electricity went out.
“Four unknown men entered the house with a flash light and dragged the victim out of the house at gunpoint. No shots fired and no injuries were reported. The suspects faces were covered to hide their identity.
“They fled the scene in an unknown small silver colour vehicle parked outside the house. The motive is believed to be gang related. The investigation and search continues."
The relative adds that they have had sleepless nights since the kidnapping, while residents have expressed their shock, describing Josephs as friendly and popular.
They share: "We have been to hospitals and mortuaries and not found her so we know she is alive somewhere.
“We believe she is being held hostage but nobody has asked for a ransom or anything like that.
“As a family we have no information about why she would be kidnapped but we are very worried. Charlene is a lovely person and very popular.
“So many people have come to us and the tears are just rolling the way everyone is so worried.“
Anyone with information about the kidnapping is asked to call Sergeant Bradley Petersen on 079 025 7096 or Crime Stop on 08600 10111.