Tracker nails rapists

Two men were arrested in Port Elizabeth during the early hours of this morning (January 28, 2008) while allegedly attempting to rape a woman.

The incident began when the owner of a taxi service contacted Tracker after his driver failed to return his vehicle at the designated time. Fearing that the man had been hijacked, the owner contacted Tracker and the unit in his vehicle was activated.

"At around one o'clock this morning, a Tracker recovery crew and members of the SAPS Port Elizabeth Flying Squad tracked the vehicle to the backyard of a house in an area known as Timothy Valley. Proceeding with caution, they opened the door to the missing vehicle where one of two men was lying, half naked, on top of a woman, allegedly trying to rape her. The woman immediately burst into tears, screaming that our crews had saved her life," says Gareth Crocker, Tracker's Communications Manager.

The two men were arrested and the woman was immediately transferred to a local hospital for the necessary treatment and counseling. The woman later reported that the men had already raped her once at a previous destination earlier in the evening and that this was the second attempt.

"While we are hugely saddened that we could not spare this poor woman her initial ordeal, we are particularly proud of the fact that we were able to stop the alleged second rape from happening. Not only that, but we've caught these men in the act and may well have stopped them from possibly taking the woman's life or potentially raping more women in the future," says Crocker.

The woman reported that the men had offered her a free lift earlier in the evening. Her cellphone and wallet was found in their possession.

An appeal to the public

Tracker would like to appeal to members of the public not to accept lifts from strangers.

"We understand that many South Africans cannot afford transport and that there is an obvious temptation to accept a free ride from a stranger. However, this 'free ride' may well come at a cost. Just a few days ago, Tracker recovery crews pulled three innocent women out of a hijacked vehicle in KwaZulu Natal which had rolled down an embankment. The driver of that vehicle was an alleged hijacker and possible murderer who, in fact, took his own life as Tracker crews approached the stricken vehicle," says Crocker. 'They too, had been offered a free lift."