Girl Taken Hostage And Forced To Wear Neck Bomb For 10 Hours

The ‘collar bomb’ that was strapped to an Australian schoolgirl’s neck contained no explosives and appeared to be part of an ‘elaborate hoax’. The attack was believed to be an extortion attempt. hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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In a scene that could have been straight from a Hollywood thriller, bomb squad specialists spent ten nail-biting hours freeing 18-year-old Madeleine Pulver from the ‘bomb-like’ device.
She said it had been chained to her neck by a man who entered her home in Mosman, a wealthy Sydney suburb, yesterday afternoon.
But it has turned out that the device did not actually contain explosives.
New South Wales Police assistant commissioner Mark Murdoch said: ‘A very, very elaborate hoax as it turned out.
‘But it was made and certainly gave the appearance of a legitimate improvised explosive device.
‘We had to treat it seriously until we could prove otherwise and that’s exactly what we did and that’s why it took so long.’
The drama began when Miss Pulver’s family contacted police saying their daughter had been attacked and there was a strange device attached to her.
Bomb technicians, negotiators and detectives rushed to the scene.
Nearby homes were evacuated, streets were closed and medical and fire crews waited nearby.
Police said they had no idea why Miss Pulver was targeted, but they said the attack did not appear to be random.
Mr Murdoch added: ‘I hardly think that the elaborate nature and sophistication of this device was the result of someone who picked on someone randomly.
‘The offender went to a lot of trouble for a particular reason, but what that reason was, police are still working to determine.
He also revealed a note had been left inside the house, but did not release details on what it said.
He added: ‘There were some instructions left by the offender at the scene and those instructions will provide us with further lines for inquiry.
‘Those instructions also limited us somewhat last night in how quickly we could proceed.
‘Certainly the instructions were precise, they were such that led us to believe that we were dealing with a very serious and legitimate threat.’
Early media reports suggested that the note the attacker had left was a ransom note for her father – the millionaire boss of an international software company – threatening to set off the bomb if money was not paid.
However, police last night declined to say whether the device had been part of an extortion attempt.
They said they and the family had no ideas as to a motive and also revealed Miss Pulver had had ‘previous contact’ with the raider.
It was reported the man also warned the 18-year-old against calling police by saying he had attached a microphone to her so he could hear what she said.
He was also said to have told her he could detonate the device remotely.
Despite the warning, Miss Pulver called police who then embarked on a delicate ten-hour operation to remove the bomb.
The device appeared to be so elaborate that experts had no idea whether it would explode as they attempted to detach it.
Miss Pulver was also said to have been ‘absolutely petrified’ during the ordeal.
Police bomb disposal experts, who had sought advice from British military authorities as they delicately worked to free Madeleine Pulver from the explosive package that had been attached to her, finally freed her from her terrifying ordeal – into the arms of her relieved mother and father.
The 18-year-old girl said she had been startled by the balaclava-clad intruder who left the device attached to her – as well as leaving, it is believed, a ransom note for her wealthy parents.
Her father, William, is the CEO of an internet share dealing company, called Nielsen Net Ratings and is said to be one of the richest men in Australia.
Her mother, Belinda, 51, has a successful landscaping company. The family has recently moved back from New York.
Today’s drama was played out in the exclusive Sydney suburb of Mosman – home of multi-millionaires, sports figures, stockbrokers and bankers.
Police assistant commissioner Mark Murdoch initially refused to comment on claims that a ransom note was left with the device. ‘The family are at a loss to explain this,’ he said. ‘You would hardly think that someone would go to this much trouble if there wasn’t a motive behind it.
‘We want to get our hands on who’s done this.’ And immediately after the device was removed, Mr Murdoch said bomb squad officers still did not know how dangerous it was.
But he did indicate that it was not a fake bomb. He said: ‘It was examined right away for explosives and the delicate action we have taken in regard to it shows how serious the situation was.’
He said that neither he nor the bomb squad officers had seen anything like it and he admitted it would be ‘some time’ before it could be dismantled, not only for safety reasons, but to look for clues as to who had put it together.

DM