LISTEN: Friend recalls panic, fear during Van Rooyen abductions
A KZN woman whose friend is one of paedophile, Gert Van Rooyen's victims says the kidnappings caused nationwide panic and fear.
Fourteen-year-old Tracy-Lee Scott Crossley from Randburg went missing in 1988 after she was allegedly lured into a car by Van Rooyen.
She is one of at least six girls who were allegedly kidnapped and killed by Van Rooyen and his partner, Joey Haarhoff almost 30 years ago.
The bodies of all their victims have never been recovered.
Crossley's friend spoke to Newswatch after KZN police halted excavation operations at Blythedale beach on the North Coast - where the victims were believed to be buried.
ALSO READ: Episode 2: #MySisterEscaped paedophile Gert van Rooyen
She says when Crossley went missing, it caused nationwide panic and fear.
"When the news broke that she had been abducted, we were watching it on TV. When her face was shown, we were all very very shocked and couldn't believe that she was one of the missing girls," she said.
She says communities were all on edge following the abductions.
"Everyone was very nervous to go anywhere and leave their children alone so yes, we also went through the same type of thing, living in fear and not knowing who was going to go next or who is going to disappear next."
She recalls how families frantically tried to look for the girls when they went missing and feels the families will have full closure once the girls are found.
Meanwhile, listen below as East Coast Breakfast's Keri Miller speaks to Liezel Du Plessis, the sister of the victim that managed to run away...
A timeline of the kidnappings:
In 1979, van Rooyen abducted two girls which he allegedly assaulted at a Dam near Pretoria.
He was arrested and sentenced to four years imprisonment for abduction, sexual assault and common assault.
He served three years before being released.
In 1988, it's believed that he abducted 14-year old Tracy Lee Scott-Crossley from Randburg and 12-year-old Fiona Harvey from Pietermaritzburg.
In 1989, 12-year-old Joan Horn of Pretoria and sixteen-year-old Janet Delport of Durban were abducted.
Delport was found later.
11-year-old Odette Boucher and 12-year-old Anne-Marie Wapenaar from Kempton Park, were abducted.
Lastly, 13-year-old Yolanda Wessels went missing.
In 1990, Van Rooyen shot Haarhoff and committed suicide after another one of their victims escaped bringing police one step closer to him.