Kahu home safe and well

By MONIQUE DEVEREUX and SCOTT MacLEOD

Kahu Durie was yesterday found alive and well in a house in Taumarunui, 200 hours after she was snatched from her pram at gunpoint.

At a press conference late last night, police announced that they had swooped on a house in the central North Island town yesterday and were questioning a man.

The Herald understands that central North Island police stations began receiving calls from the police Special Tactics Group early yesterday.

After the raid, Kahu was flown to Wellington Airport by the police Eagle helicopter and reunited with her parents.

Police said last night that they were speaking to a man who they believe was acting alone. He was not known to the baby's parents.

A 54-year old man will appear this morning in the Taumaruni District Court charged with kidnapping. Police said it was likely he would face further charges.

Kahu is the eight-month-old daughter of Maori lawyer Donna Hall and High Court judge Eddie Hall.

She was kidnapped by a gunman masked with a balaclava on Saturday, April 13, while out on a regular walk with her mother near their Lower Hutt home.

Detective Inspector Stuart Wildon confirmed that a $3 million ransom demand was made for Kahu "some days ago".

That is reflected in a subtle shift in police attitudes from Wednesday.

In spite of direct questioning at press conferences during the week, they denied that a ransom had been made but stopped answering questions in relation to "operational" matters.

Instead, they repeatedly said they were at a "critical stage" of their investigation and that they were expecting contact from the kidnapper within the next few days.

Last night, Mr Wildon said the man had not contacted police, rather "they contacted him".

Asked if police had got the $3 million together, Mr Reid told the Herald: "We had the ability to get it together."

He would not say what form or currency the man had demanded.

The ransom was not paid.

Commissioner Rob Robinson defended the tactic of keeping the fact that police had been negotiating with the kidnapper secret while telling the public they had not heard from him.

"The issues that needed to be considered were paramount - absolute commitment to baby Kahu's safety."

Asked if the man arrested was the St Albans Grove gunman, Mr Wildon said:

"We are still very much considering motives."

Commissioner Robinson described decisions made by the inquiry heads and their staff as "absolutely spot on".

"The prime objective was to get baby Kahu back home, and she's there tonight with her parents. She's well, and the issues that needed to be considered to ensure that she was located and able to be recovered were paramount."

Asked if there were accomplices, Mr Wildon said: "I can't discount that possibility, but from what he we know we believe he was working alone."

He still could not rule out a link with the murder of 34-year-old Kate Alkema, who was strangled 800m from where Kahu was snatched and within two hours of the abduction.

A media blackout was put in place yesterday while the recovery operation was under way.

Police cancelled their daily press conference yesterday morning, saying there was "no news to tell".

Mr Wildon said last night that the $10,000 reward offered for the recovery of the kidnapper's Mitsubishi getaway car had not played a part in finding Kahu.

The car was found about 8 o'clock last night in Lower Hutt.

Police would not reveal the location, but said they had found it through good detective work, and had not been told of its location by the man.

Baby Kahu's biological father, Jarmie Piripi, said last night that he was stunned at the news of the tot's recovery.

"Half an hour ago I was living in a world that was shrouded in this horrible thing, and in one phone call it was gone."

He described the abduction as "the worst possible thing that could befall any person".

Detective Superintendent Larry Reid said a lot about the case was yet unknown but it was "not a local-based thing".

"We still have a significant team of police working outside Wellington."

He acknowledged the support of Justice Durie and Donna Hall, saying that if it had not been for their confidence and support, bringing Kahu home would have been much harder.

"It is wonderful to know there are smiles on their faces. The last few hours have been manna from heaven."

Mr Reid said it was too early to say if the kidnapper had been working alone.

It was "pure speculation" to ask at this stage if the kidnapping had any relation to the work of either Justice Durie or Donna Hall.

Police said they had got "very valuable information from the FBI" in the United States and Scotland Yard in Britain.

They were withholding some information, such as locations, because the investigation was continuing.

Police would not disclose when the ransom demand was made, but said they had been "working towards it for some days".

Mr Wildon said they did not believe the man charged was known to or had had any contact with Kahu's family.

He said it was premature to talk about motive, but when asked if the Hall and Durie family had been targeted, he said: "I have always said there was a degree of planning involved.

"Whether or not that planning was with this particular family in mind, I can't say yet."

The news of Kahu's recovery was announced by Mr Wildon, who is second-in-charge of the operation.

"I am pleased to tell you the news everybody has been waiting for," he told reporters.

He said Kahu had been examined by a doctor and was fit and well.

Speaking through police, Justice Durie and Donna Hall thanked everyone for the support the family had received since Kahu was abducted.

"Words cannot express what we truly feel. Thank you so very much."

The reunited family intends to hold a press conference today.

Kahu's full name is Kahurautete, named for her father's grandmother.

Her birth mother, Anaha Morehu, is Donna Hall's sister.

Kahu was informally adopted under the whangai custom after Donna Hall lost a baby to spina bifida four years ago.

The Durie and Hall family will continue to have police protection.

The hotline - 0800 150 499 - will stay open for people with any information.

Full coverage: Baby Kahu kidnapping


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