Smiles, laughter, relief for the $3 million baby

By PAULA OLIVER

It could have been mistaken for a light-hearted joke.

"Three million," mused Justice Eddie Durie with a hint of a grin. "I thought she was worth a bit more than that, actually. He sold himself short."

The comment drew a ripple of laughter, but he was being deadly serious. The $3 million ransom demanded by Kahurautete Durie's kidnapper fell far short of the value her father placed on her life.

The little girl, kidnapped at gunpoint nine days before, had been found alive and well.

She had been reunited with her proud parents and their relief was obvious when they arrived at a media conference yesterday.

A week before, to the hour, prominent Maori lawyer Donna Hall had looked into a wall of cameras and carefully controlled her voice as she pleaded for the safe return of her daughter.

Yesterday, she entered the Lower Hutt police station bar - the scene of more than seven press conferences over the past week - a different woman.

She had a spring in her step and her words were spontaneous. Her husband and daughter at her side, she could not suppress a beaming smile.

Even her dress, decorated with large dots, seemed happy.

Her slightly built husband cradled the day's star attraction, baby Kahu.

"It's really Kahu's day, so without further ado, here's Eddie and Donna," Police Commissioner Rob Robinson said, warmly shaking Durie's hand.

There was a long pause. All eyes turned to Durie, who was facing the media for the first time since the kidnap.

As a High Court judge, his job had exposed him to the darker side of society, but this moment seemed to overwhelm him.

After a helpful prompt from Robinson, he quietly said: "It's a lot harder than being in court."

There were so many people he wanted to thank, he said. "It's God first, and a close runner-up, police second."

The light-hearted comment broke the ice, and suddenly everyone relaxed.

"We just couldn't believe that this thing came off so quickly. We thought we were in for the very long haul, and we're left with the feeling that if Scotland Yard wants to know how to do it, they'll be coming down to Lower Hutt," Durie said.

Next to him, Hall would not let go of her daughter's hand - and who could blame her.

Fourteen hours earlier, she had been called into the Lower Hutt police station without knowing why.

"We both came here very frightened about what we were going to be told."

Durie continued: "We couldn't believe it. We had no idea. I don't think we've really slept. Couldn't eat.

Of the moment he learned his daughter was safe, he said: "Just suddenly, we felt so relaxed."

A drowsy Kahu was delivered to her parents by police helicopter. She had slept all the way from Taumarunui.

In the private moments after her arrival, her anxious parents spoke gently toher.

"I just wanted to see if she was well. So very quietly, just her father and I [spoke to her]. And then we saw the flash of her eyes and knew she was just great," Hall said with a huge smile.

The police officers who had come into the room to watch the press conference grinned.

For her part, Kahu seemed temporarily stunned by yesterday's attention.

But it wasn't long before she let out a large yawn, had a stretch, and began to fall asleep before the eyes of the country.

The couple spoke freely of their anguish, and what had given them strength.

"I don't know what maintained confidence for the family, but what maintained confidence for me was Psalm 121," said Durie, referring to the Old Testament passage which promises God's protection against all evil.

The hoax call made by a woman last Tuesday claiming that the baby had been killed and dumped in Wellington had hurt the family immensely, Hall said.

"I hope you learn from it," she said, addressing the 13-year-old Dargaville girl who police believe made the call.

When a ransom demand arrived last week, a sense of relief washed over the family because they knew what they were dealing with.

And they knew Kahu was still alive.

Then came the wait.

Asked if she would walk the same route she had taken when Kahu was snatched, Hall replied stoutly that she would.

"It's meant to be walked along," she said. "We just have to work a little bit harder to keep it safe."

The pair dealt with the questions comfortably, glancing at Kahu often, and thanking the police team who brought herhome.

For the police, the successful pickup was the best possible result. Hours after reuniting Kahu with her parents on Sunday night, the detectives in charge of the inquiry fronted a news conference and spoke of the tough decisions they had taken during the investigation.

Yesterday, looking tired but relaxed, they were able to reveal a little more of what they had been doing.

But there were still some areas that were out of bounds.

"No," Detective Superintendent Larry Reid replied with a wry grin when asked if he could say why the ransom had not been paid.

Nor could he say how the ransom money was put together. Or how police swooped on the abductor. Or how the man reacted. Or who he was.

Money was his motivation, but even that was getting a bit close to "operational matters".

Detective Inspector Stu Wildon said the week had gone by so fast that it was difficult to describe.

Reid said the team had not gone home before the early hours any day of the inquiry.

"It's been a long week, but you sort of forget all of that at the end."

The police team allowed themselves a small celebration at their inhouse bar on Sunday night.

The stark room, decorated with pictures of All Black greats, was the venue for all of the Operation St Albans press conferences.

Minutes after the announcement of Kahu's return on Sunday, members of the investigation team began filing in with bottles of beer.

Straggling members of the media could not miss the smiles and the handshakes.

But as Robinson said yesterday, it was a bittersweet moment at the station. In the same building, a huge team was still working to find the killer of Kate Alkema.

"The poignant thing was that there was one inquiry team celebrating success, and another inquiry team working out of this station, working very, very hard," the commissioner said.

"Members of that inquiry team very quickly came across to congratulate Stu and Larry and Mike and their team.

"It was a bittersweet time in the Lower Hutt police station, but it was something that I think all of us that were here will remember.

"It doesn't matter how old we are, whether we are new in our service, or for those of us who are in our twilight, it was a special day."

Yesterday, he said, was baby Kahu's day.

But the significance of it seemed lost on the docile child. By the end of her starring appearance, she was asleep.

"Some people look for fame ... She was famous at eight months. That's pretty good going," Durie said.

She will not remember the ordeal, but her parents will seek advice on the best way to tell her.

They will also seek to protect her anonymity, although that seems a hard task.

After 20 minutes in the spotlight yesterday, the family stood up to leave. Behind them were two plastic plants where earlier in the week there had been a police poster screaming "Baby Kahu needs YOUR help".

They made their way past the cameras, and then baby Kahu was gone.

But this time she was safely in the arms of her father.

Words of faith

Asked what had given him strength in the past week, Justice Eddie Durie replied: "Psalm 121." These are the verses he read as he prayed for his baby daughter's safe return.


I lift up my eyes to the hills.

From whence does my help come?

My help comes from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved,

he who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, he who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;

The Lord is your shade on your right hand.

The sun shall not smite you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;

he will keep your life.

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in

from this time forth and for evermore.

- Psalm 121 (Revised Standard Version)

Full coverage: Baby Kahu kidnapping


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