Balaclava thwarts Baby Kahu kidnap identikit

By PATRICK GOWER

The man who stole Baby Kahu Durie was wearing a black balaclava, say the two teenage witnesses, throwing into doubt police plans to issue an Identikit picture.

The cousins, aged 14 and 12, were pushing 8-month-old Kahu in a pram with her mother, lawyer Donna Hall, down a no-exit Lower Hutt street when the kidnapper pointed a gun at them and demanded the child.

Yesterday was the fourth day without any sign of the baby or contact from the kidnapper.

Police last night confirmed news about the balaclava after a tension-filled day in which officers scoured a Wellington hillside for Kahu in response to a message left by a woman on the inquiry hotline saying she had killed her and disposed of the body.

Police are trying to determine whether the call was a hoax - but admit they did not have the technology set up to trace the call.

The cousins' father, Ra Durie, told the Herald that his daughters said they could see only the man's glazed eyes and his neck through the loose-fitting balaclava and could not give a better description.

"There is a simple explanation for why there is no Identikit - my daughters say he had a balaclava on."

Dr Durie, who is Baby Kahu's godfather, said he believed Ms Hall had also seen the balaclava the girls described.

He did not know why police had not released the information.

"But how reliable is their description when they had a gun pointed at them at the time. [The 14-year-old] has told us she was looking at the gun more than the man.

"As their father, I've got to hope they have got it right for the good of the investigation."

Dr Durie said the two girls, whom he does not want named, returned to school in Palmerston North yesterday at the suggestion of of Baby Kahu's father, High Court judge Eddie Durie, who thought the routine "would help return some normality".

Dr Durie said the girls were coping remarkably well after the kidnapping - the double-barrelled shotgun was pointed at the 14-year-old's head - due to the support of their extended family.

Dr Durie, the physician for the New Zealand Maori rugby team, said the girls were close to Ms Hall, a prominent lawyer, and had stayed with her during the school holidays. They dressed Kahu for the walk from which she never returned.

Previous descriptions of the offender issued by the police did not mention the balaclava. The kidnapper has been described as a slim Pakeha about 172cm tall, in his late 30s or early 40s, balding or with close-cropped greying hair.

He was wearing black jeans and a black jacket and drove a two-tone Mitsubishi Galant or Sigma with the stolen registration plates UL3802.

Police last night confirmed the offender was wearing a balaclava but a spokesman would not comment on whether it was the reason the Identikit was not being issued.

The officer leading the hunt, Detective Inspector Stuart Wildon, earlier said he had seen copies of Identikit pictures that had been made up and decided that because of the lack of detail their release would be "unhelpful".

"Sometimes they are helpful, sometimes they are not."

Mr Wildon said one of the 400 calls police had received on the public information line had been "distressing" - a barely audible message left by a woman just before midnight on Monday claiming she had killed Kahu and dumped the body in a Wellington street.

The woman did not leave a name or number and Mr Wildon appealed to her yesterday to call back so police could establish if it was one of several crank or malicious calls they had received.

Police had not been able to trace the call - the inquiry line did not have the right equipment.

Technicians were working to see if they could trace it and were also attempting to set up equipment that would allow police to trace future calls.

Ms Hall's elder sister, Waikato University researcher Marian Mare, said Ms Hall and Justice Durie knew of the call and "they, like the rest of us, want to believe it is a hoax".

"We know from the police that it might be genuine and know that it might not. Whichever way, it is still distressing us a great deal.

"And if it is not [genuine information] please help us by not hindering the search with information that is only designed to cause further distress to an already distressed family.

"So, please, do what is right to help us get our baby back."

Police followed up the woman's call, with a search in Albert St - "Albert" was the only discernible word on the tape relating to location - in the suburb of Melrose but found nothing.

Further analysis of the tape, which had hissing background noise, led them to search Mt Albert Rd, which winds through hills on the outskirts of Berhampore.

Yesterday afternoon, more than 30 police, including the specialist search team and new recruits brought in to help with the investigation, scoured the top of a hill about 10km from where Kahu was snatched.

As darkness fell the Auckland police helicopter Eagle was continuing to make low sweeps while groups of police did grid searches over the area.

A small area of cut grass near the parking bay was cordoned off around a red-and-pink fluffy toy.

The toy was bagged and taken away for examination, with rubbish and clothes, including a pink knitted baby's hat, a brown and green plaid jacket and what looked to be a car seat cover.

Police last night said they would show the items to Kahu's family.

But a spokeswoman said officers did not believe they were significant. The search will continue today.

The inquiry team of 50 police is growing, and is supported by 60 recruits from the Police College.

A list of possible suspects stands at nearly 25, compiled from public calls and police records.

Police have received sightings of the kidnapper's vehicle but they are still tracing the stolen numberplate, which was taken from a car in Auckland in 1999.

Mr Wildon said police had asked Ms Hall and Justice Durie to provide a list of past incidents but refused to comment when asked about specific threats that had been made.

He did not "particularly favour" the scenario raised by Ms Hall on Monday of the kidnapper being a paid intermediary, disclosed when she also discussed threats she had received over a major public law issue she was involved in.

Police have not ruled out a link to the murder of Lower Hutt woman Kate Alkema, which happened within 1km and one hour of the kidnapping.

Officers investigating the two cases were sharing information but Mr Wildon said there was no evidence to indicate they were related.

Full coverage: Baby Kahu kidnapping

Picture: Kahurautete Durie

Picture: Kahurautete's clothing

Picture: the car being sought by police

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