January 5 1974
The wife of kidnapped West German consul Mr Thomas Niedermayer – taken from outside his home in Glengoland Gardens, on Thursday night of last week – made a dramatic appeal for his return last night, just 48 hours after her discharge from hospital.
With lips trembling, she said: “It is now well over a week since he was taken away from me and our daughters. Nobody can tell me why he was so cruelly taken, where he is now and why I have had no word from him. I can only hope and pray that my dear husband is alive and well and will come back to me and his family soon.”
And Mrs Niedermayer pleaded with the kidnappers: “Please do him no harm. He has never harmed anyone. Please let him come back to us, and, at the very least please let him get in touch with me or allow him to give a sign of life. I am waiting for him day and night”.
Mrs Ingeborg Niedermayer, dressed all in black and with no make-up or jewellery, spoke in faltering English with a German accent as she read the prepared statement. Beside her sat her 20-year-old daughter, Gabrielle.
Mrs Niedermayer was released from hospital on Wednesday. She had been there since before Christmas, suffering from a spinal complaint.
Her 44-year-old husband, managing director at Grundig’s Dunmurry plant and West Germany’s honorary consul in Belfast, was seized outside his home by two young men who bundled him into a car which was then driven away. The men had lured Mr Niedermayer on to the roadway by saying they had collided with his car and wanted him to see the damage.
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The RUC detective squad set up to probe the mystery disappearance say they are baffled. And, earlier this week, a top West German detective flew in to join the search.
After Mrs Niedermayer’s appeal, Mr Curt Friese, the German Consul General for Liverpool and Northern Ireland, said she was “bearing up well”.
But Gabrielle Niedermayer, who is caring for her mother at the family bungalow, said: “We are worn out with worry.”
At the Grundig factory Mr Niedermayer’s deputy, Mr Douglas Getty, said: “Everybody is getting very anxious and we would certainly like to hear some word.”
Please do him no harm. He has never harmed anyone. Please let him come back to us
— Ingeborg Niedermayer
Police have been told of several telephone calls to the factory assuring Mr Niedermeaer’s family that he is alive and well. But they cannot say whether the reports are genuine or hoaxes.
All along, however, the police have said they believe he was kidnapped, but have been keeping “an open mind” over who was responsible and the reason for it.