Mpumalanga police have reached out to the community for assistance in locating a suspect linked to a double rape case of two minors aged 7 and 9.

This after the two girls went missing on Saturday, March 30, from their parents? home in the Vosman, near Witbank.

SAPS provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Donald Mdhluli, said the incident not only shocked the police but the community as well.

?These innocent victims suffered excruciating pain and agony in the hands of an immoral rapist.The news first came to light after the parents of these minors could not locate them where they were playing. They then alerted the police who opened a missing persons file for investigation purposes. A search party for the victims intensified, however with no success,? said Mdhluli

He added that on Sunday, officers at Phola police station received information that the victims had been found but both off them were raped.

?The reason behind the minors being found, was as a result of a Good Samaritan, who assisted after the two girls were dumped on the streets by their attacker who just left them to fend for themselves and to navigate their way back home after keeping them hostage for the whole night,? said Mdhluli.

Mdhluli said the Good Samaritan saw that they were in a state of shock and not dressed appropriately for the cold weather.

?A request is therefore made for the community to come forward with valuable information that may share light in this investigation,? said Mdhluli.

Meanwhile, provincial commissioner of police in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has condemned the incident.

 ?The perpetrators will be hunted down and swiftly brought to book so that justice can be served for the victims?.