Stolen: The Baby Kahu Story to screen on TV3

Written by Tim Balme (Outrageous Fortune, The Almighty Johnsons, Brown Brothers), Stolen: The Baby Kahu Story, screening on Wednesday, July 28th at 8:30pm on 3, tells the griping true story of the 2002 kidnapping of baby Kahu Durie.

No missing persons case in recent New Zealand history gripped the nation more than the kidnapping of baby Kahu Durie. The adopted daughter of Maori High Court Judge, Justice Eddie Durie, and prominent lawyer, Donna Hall, Baby Kahu was snatched at gunpoint, sparking a massive police manhunt.

The nine days that follow the kidnapping were a gut-wrenching, agonising time for the family, and for the New Zealand public, as they watch, gripped by brave television appeals for the baby’s safe return.

Meanwhile, kidnapper Terence Traynor ruthlessly carried out what he believed was the perfect crime – a crime five years in the planning.

Following Donna Hall’s emotional public plea, a letter arrived containing polaroids of the baby, and a ransom demand for three million dollars – the biggest in New Zealand history.

“Stolen is going to be a reminder for a lot of people who were present and saw the TV coverage,” explains George Henare who portrays Eddie Durie in the telefeature.

Out of the public eye, the police, led by Detective Inspector Stuart Wildon, worked tirelessly, carrying out reconstructions of the crime and following up every possible lead – including hoax calls that claimed the baby was dead.

“It will be intriguing for viewers to go behind the scenes of the police investigation, and very moving to see the family’s experience,” Henare continues.

Slowly, but surely, the net closed on Traynor, eventually focusing on a secluded house in a small country town.

As Donna and Eddie, their extended family – and the New Zealand public – waited and hoped, Wildon and his team knew that one wrong step could have had devastating consequences.

Now, seven years later, director Britta Johnstone (Outrageous Fortune, Go Girls), is retelling this emotional story. Make sure not to miss it when Stolen: The Baby Kahu Story screens on Wednesday, July 28th at 8:30pm on 3.

- TV3