Magdeline Makola may not have survived the sub-zero temperatures of another night, according to the police, who heard her cries for help and smashed the window of the car to release her.
Ms. Makola from Scotland, had not been seen since she left work at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on December 15th. She did not turn up for work on the 18th and was found, tied up and still in her pajamas, in the boot of her car on Friday, December 26th.
In a short statement yesturday, Lothian and Borders Police said: “A 35-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with the abduction of Magdeline Makola.” The man was not named but police say the abductor was known to Ms. Makola.
Nurse Makola, 38, is recovering in hospital. When she was found, she was dehydrated and suffering from hypothermia. A local spokesperson for the National Health Service (NHS) said she was “stable and comfortable”. She had a small scratch on her face but police are unclear if she had been in the car boot for all of her disappearance nor if she had been drugged or threatened with a weapon.
A policeman was alerted to her calls from inside the car during a street by street search of an area pinpointed by tracing sightings of the car during Ms. Makola’s absence.
Police broke the window of the red Vauxhall Astra and said she may not have survived the sub-zero temperatures of the next night. She was “extremely traumatised” by her ordeal, making it difficult to interview her.
Ms. Makola is a British citizen with family in South Africa who are eager to know what happened to her.
Her passport and credit cards were left in her house beside her uniform, bag and packed lunch.
She was found 23 miles from where she lives.
