A teenage girl was kidnapped and her parents held against their will during an early morning farm attack near Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape.
The incident triggered a massive police manhunt with alerts issued to all neighbouring police stations and clusters, including Port Elizabeth, to be on the lookout for two vehicles that were stolen during the robbery.
The attack happened at about 2am on Monday on a farm in the Doornkloof area on the outskirts of Fort Beaufort, situated between Grahamstown and Komani, formerly known as Queenstown.
According to officials, by about 5am the 15-year-old girl was found unharmed and alone in one of the stolen cars, a Subaru, in Hilltown on the outskirts of the nearby Fort Beaufort.
By 2pm on Monday, police cluster detectives were still combing the scene for evidence.
Cluster commander Brigadier Piet Wolvaard was overseeing the manhunt to arrest the robbers.
Police are remaining tight-lipped about the attack.
Police spokesman Captain Khaya Tonjeni said that by late morning the missing Isuzu had also been located.
“The second vehicle (the bakkie) and several items have since been recovered,” he said at 3pm.
“The young lady who was found unharmed in one of the vehicles is currently receiving trauma counselling.”
Tonjeni added that an unknown number of attackers were involved.
Police involved with the probe believed that between four and five gunmen were involved.
Tonjeni however did say that no one was injured during the robbery and several items were stolen from the house.
The incident comes only two weeks after retired farmer Norman Ludwig, 69, was beaten to death and left for dead in his farm Valleisig– a former cattle farm - about 10km outside Joubertina.
Ludwig was found beaten to death outside his farmhouse on October 5 when a family friend went to visit him.
In that case, police spokesman Sergeant Majola Nkohli said that Jason Witbooi, 22, had been arrested in the nearby town of, Louterwater, on Friday.
Nkohli said Witbooi would remain in custody until November 2 when he is due to appear in the same court for a bail application.
Last month, the annual crime statistics for the period April 1 2017 to March 31 2018 showed that sixty-two farm murders had been reported countrywide.
The dead included both farm owners and farm workers.