A six-year-old girl who was allegedly kidnapped in Johannesburg was recently spotted in Cape Town with her abductor, Cape {town} Etc reports.
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Eva Tembo reportedly went missing on 1 July in Kensington, Johannesburg. She was last seen with her mother’s employer, Carlos Rebelo, who drives an older model gold Mercedes Benz with the registration number HBN940GP.
They were reportedly spotted twice in Cape Town last week.
According to Eva’s father, Michael, the family is still waiting to hear from the police.
He told CapeTalk that Eva’s mother and Rebelo started arguing after the man offered to take Eva to school (he was also paying her school fees).
However, it turned out he was taking her to a park. When her mother confronted him, a fight ensued, resulting in a court order.
However, Eva was allegedly abducted by Rebelo soon after. His house was found locked and his cell phone was switched off.
Rebelo’s daughter, Susana Kennedy, has been spreading the word of the abduction across social media, stating that Rebelo was abusive and that she knows ‘what he is capable of’.
She told CapeTalk that she had been estranged from him for many years until a friend showed her a missing child poster of Eva.
‘This man is my mother’s ex-husband and was abusive towards her and my sister. His home is in Kensington, JHB but has been empty since he fled in late June 2024,’ a post on Reddit reads.
‘He took Eva and fled when her mother tried to take her on a family holiday (he is her employer). Eva is not safe with him. Please help us find them and ensure Eva’s safety.’
On her Instagram page, Kennedy warned anyone who spots the pair to not approach Rebelo directly. ‘He is a black belt karate instructor. He also could be armed, I don’t know.’
‘He is very volatile,’ she added. ‘He is not safe to approach – watch from a distance and call for help.’
In another Instagram post, Kennedy explains that Eva and her mother have been living with Rebelo for years. ‘This is not a case of somebody abducting somebody and tying them up in a cupboard. This is a case of somebody who’s grown attached to a child and has bonded with the child as if they are their own child. She is not his daughter.’
‘I’m also feeling like Carlos is a 70 plus, 75 plus-year-old man that is mentally unstable and beating him up, harming him physically is not going to fix anything. Getting him into custody and helping him get treatment and out of society will.’
Anyone with information on Rebelo or Eva’s whereabouts can contact:
- Investigating officer Sargent Sithole on 076 111 4575
- Missing Children South Africa on 072 647 7464
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Picture: @thesusanakennedy / Instagram
