Amy-Leigh de Jager’s kidnappers were prepared to settle for R1,000 to cover transport costs and R5,000 in cash, as the net closed in on them.
This was revealed on Thursday by the child’s grandfather, Martin Brouwer.
Three suspects were arrested by police overnight in connection with Amy-Leigh’s abduction, one being a teacher at her Vanderbijlpark primary school.
Four men had grabbed the grade R pupil from her mother, Angeline, at the Laershool Kollegepark shortly before 8am on Monday. They bundled her into a white Toyota Fortuner before speeding off.
Police swiftly began an investigation and the Vaal community rallied around in support of the family. Amy-Leigh was reunited with her family about 19 hours later, after being dropped off in a street in the same suburb.
Angeline is a stay-at-home mother and her husband Wynand is a school teacher.
Shortly after Amy-Leigh’s kidnapping, they received a ransom demand of R2m – an unaffordable sum for the middle-class family, Brouwer told TimesLIVE.
Speaking after news of the arrests broke on Thursday morning, Brouwer described how the extended family had tried to support Amy-Leigh’s parents during the time she was missing.