2017 Year in Review: Durban launches massive search for missing baby

Durban dropped everything on the 10th of March to help locate a 1-month-old baby girl taken from her mother during an alleged hijacking.

People from across the city joined the search for the little girl, while others prayed for her safe return, offered love and support and made trauma counselling available to the affected family.

As the story unfolded, it was established that the little girl had been with her mother when they were allegedly hijacked near a shopping centre in Durban's Greyville area.

Police said at the time that they were investigating claims a woman and her 8-year-old child were forced out of their white Toyota Yaris by two armed men. The hijackers then sped off with the vehicle, with the baby girl still inside.

A massive search was launched, with people wanting to know the vehicle's registration number so they could pass on information if they spotted it on the road.

NOW READ: Durbanites rally to #HelpFindDurbanBaby

Private security companies joined police in the search, carried out from the air and on the ground.

The vehicle was eventually located in Montclair, south of Durban that day.

Marshall Security's Kyle van Reenen explains.

Reports then came through that the fitted car seat had been removed from the vehicle.

The Montclair community rallied in their numbers, with people spending hours combing the area searching for the baby.

Police confirmed with East Coast Radio at around 4am on Sunday, the 12th of March that the baby was found during a roadblock near the Mariannhill Toll Plaza.

The initial confirmation gave East Coasters and South Africans at large the information they wanted to hear.

The little girl was found safe and unharmed.

Listen to SAPS spokesperson Thulani Zwane speaking to Danny Guselli below.

As the police's investigations continued, it became apparent that there was more to the story than initially thought.

Officers later confirmed that the baby's mother was among those arrested.

The Durban Magistrate's Court was packed when the baby girl's mother and her boyfriend made their first appearance in the dock.

The magistrate ordered a paternity test to establish the biological father of the child.

It turned out that the woman's husband was not the father and that a love affair was behind the alleged 'hijacking'.

The mother and her boyfriend have since made several court appearances on charges of fraud and defeating the ends of justice.

They are due back in court today.

Newswatch's coverage of #DurbanBaby became our biggest news item for 2017. The article in which police confirm that the baby was found safely generated 213,689 page views alone.

The removal of a black mamba from a Westville woman's bedroom and a dramatic truck crash caught on camera in Queensburgh are two of our other top performing stories of the year.

You can find yesterday's feature on the #DurbanStorm by clicking, here.