Celeste and Morne Nurse’s daughter, Zephany, was just three days old when she was taken from Groote Schuur hospital, South Africa in 1997. Going on to have three more children, Celeste and Morne never forgot their little girl and have celebrated her birthday every year.
Growing up with a different name with a different family, Zephany was found after her biological sister Cassidy started at the same high school as her and people started to comment on their resemblance. It was only when Cassidy invited the final year student to her house that her parents noticed the resemblance and contacted the police.
After a DNA test confirmed that she is Celsete and Morne’s daughter, a woman in her 50s was arrested.
According to Lieutentant-Colonel Andr Traut: "The suspect is being charged with kidnapping, fraud and contravening sections ... of the Children's Act, in that she fraudulently pretended that she was the biological mother of a child. The kidnapped girl has since been placed in the care of the Department of Social Services of the Western Cape Government."
Sadly the 17-year-old, who never knew her kidnappers weren’t her biological parents, lived within a couple of kilometres of her real mum and dad.
