Police have made no progress in their search for Leigh Matthews, who was abducted on Friday and held to ransom, the investigating officer said on Monday.
”We are still working on it. It is at a very very sensitive stage at the moment,” said police Inspector Gabriel Hall.
Police were brought in on Saturday morning, when Leigh was not returned after her father had left the agreed amount of cash by the side of the road, as instructed by her captors.
”The drop-off was made 24 hours ago. In my mind the release should have taken place by now,” father Rob Matthews told journalists on Saturday.
But by Tuesday morning the family had heard nothing from the kidnappers or their child since Friday afternoon.
They have offered a ”substantial” reward for any information leading to her return, and her mother repeatedly said they will not try to prosecute anyone.
”Please, please, bring her back. All I am interested in is my child coming home,” said Matthews, who is the managing director of an information technology company and lives in Fourways, Johannesburg.
He said Leigh is 1,5m in height. She has long blond hair and was wearing a red sweater and blue jeans at the time of her disappearance.
She turned 21 on Saturday.
”We need people to please report anything which appears even vaguely out of the ordinary. Any detail, no matter how insignificant it may seem, could result in Leigh coming home safely,” said Matthews.
Leigh disappeared from Bond University in Sandton, but Matthews believed she could be anywhere in the country. — Sapa
Anyone with information is asked to contact Hall on Tel: 082 568 4668.