In April 1997, a woman disguised as a nurse calmly strolled out of a Cape Town hospital holding a three day old infant.
But this baby wasn't hers to take, and it would be a staggering 17 years before the truth emerged and one of South Africa's most disturbing child abduction cases came to light.
Miche Zephany Sheldon had begun the first day of her final year at Zwaanswyk High in January 2015.
Her friends were soon buzzing with excitement when they learnt a new pupil had just arrived. Cassidy Nurse was three years Miche's junior and the two bore a striking resemblance to each other.
Miche remembered feeling an immediate bond with the younger teen, which she described as a "scary" sensation. Despite their age difference, they became close, referring to each other as "big sis" and "baby girl".
They simply brushed it off when people questioned whether they were siblings, quipping: "Maybe in another life!" Then one day the duo snapped a selfie together, reports the Mirror.
This photograph eventually reached Miche's parents, Lavona and Michael Solomon, who were taken aback by how alike they appeared.
However, Cassidy's parents, Celeste and Morne Nurse, oddly asked their daughter to discover if her mate was born on 30 April 1997.
When she confirmed "yes", the life Miche had known was about to be shattered. Several weeks on, she was removed from a mathematics lesson and escorted to the headteacher's office, where two social workers were present.
They informed her about a baby girl - Zephany Nurse - who had been taken from Groote Schuur Hospital as an infant and remained missing.
A DNA test was conducted and conclusively confirmed that she and the missing baby were one and the same. The revelation made headlines across the nation and Lavona was subsequently taken into custody.
Reflecting on her first encounter with her biological parents, Miche shared: "Meeting my biological parents... there wasn't that connection. It was extremely difficult because you've grown up thinking this is your family".
She added: "I was looking for it - but it just wasn't there in the beginning. I'd been raised by Lavona and Michael my whole life. Both families were just so harsh with each other, as well.
"I really had to adjust to having two different dads in my life. But I knew I'd want them both walking me down the aisle whenever I got married."
At the time of Miche's birth, Lavona had been battling fertility issues and had suffered a late-term pregnancy loss. Posing as medical staff, she then took Miche from her hospital cot in the maternity ward.
Whilst the financial bookkeeper no longer stays in touch with the woman who raised her, she declines to portray her as a wrongdoer.
She said: "I don't see the mum who raised me as criminal and evil. Everyone just got hurt in the process. We all just needed to heal."
In 2016, Solomon was handed a 10-year prison sentence for kidnapping, fraud and breaching the Children's Act, with the judge remarking on her lack of remorse throughout the trial.
In March 2023, Miche requested both Michael and her biological father, Morne Nurse, to accompany her down the aisle.
She expressed at the time: "My biological dad wasn't too happy at first. But this day was all about me and my relationship with my husband. But eventually, he said yes to me. It was a miracle! The relationship between my two families is improving.
"They do get along now - we've all matured, realised we're human and are finally coming to terms with what happened. We show mutual respect to one another, and we're all very understanding."
