Police in Brandfort, Free State, have arrested a 25 year old woman on charges of attempted murder after her two day old child was discovered abandoned near a hiking spot.
According to Police, the Brandfort Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit traced and arrested the mother in Brandfort following the rescue of the newborn boy on Friday, 12 December 2025, near the hiking spot on the R30 road outside Theunissen.
A man and his cousin, who were walking to the hiking spot, were informed by an unknown man about a baby underneath a tree in the vicinity. The pair immediately investigated and found the days-old male infant. With heavy rain imminent, they took the child home and contacted Theunissen police and Emergency Medical Services. Medical practitioners transported the baby to a local hospital for observation and care.
The woman is charged with attempted murder and is expected to appear soon in the Theunissen magistrate’s court.