'My bicycle has broken down'

Press, 2 July 1983, Page 1

'My bicycle has broken down'

Gloria Kong told the first person she met after freeing herself from a sack yesterday morning that her bicycle had broken down and could she telephone her father? Gloria had spent a freezing night in a hollow in haybales in the corner of a hay barn before managing to get free of ropes that bound her inside the sack and go for help. She walked about 300 metres down the road towards Oamaru to the home of Mrs Marion Nicol, aged 82, the first occupied house she came to. “She came to the door and said, ‘Could I ring my father?’ ” said Mrs Nicol. “I said, ‘What a cold day to be out without a coat.’ She was wearing only a light frock, cardigan, sockettes, and canvas shoes. "I asked her how she got here. She said that her bicycle had broken down. I asked her if she had had a puncture and she said that her chain had broken. “After she had telephoned for her father to come and pick her up we chatted until he came with some plainclothes policemen. “We spoke about different things but she never mentioned anything about the kidnap. You can imagine the

shock I got when 1 heard about it not long afterwards on the radio. I suppose she was still nervous and very scared.” There were no tears when Gloria and her father were reunited, said Mrs Nicol. “Her father was so pleased to see her. He just put his arms round her and hugged her.” Mrs Nicol said that she noticed that Gloria’s sockettes were rather grubby but apart from that she was neat and clean considering what she had been through. The corrugated iron hay

barn in which Gloria Kong was left is on farm lane' owned by Dr Donald Gibson. Although the barn is open to the weather Gloria was left well sheltered in a hollow in a corner among the bales. Mr Gibson lives several kilometres away on another property and feeds out to his sheep and cattle from the barn every two days. He said he last fed out hay from the barn on Thursday morning — the girl was not there then — and he would have done so again today. “She was well out of the weather where she was. There are worse places to be in this sort of weather,” he said. “I think she could have survived another day and night there if she had not got free. But who knows, I might not have seen her. She was,fairly well hidden.” The barn has been used by criminals before. About two years ago Mr Gibson found stolen boots and chainsaws and other gear hidden on top of the hay bales. When he reported it to the police and they made a further search, antiques and firearms were found in the stack. Mr Gibson said he did not know if anyone has been apprehended in connection with the find.