( CNN ) She is being called Zephany Nurse , though it is not the name with which the 17-year-old South African girl grew up . Zephany means `` hidden by the Lord , '' a fitting name for a girl who was allegedly kidnapped at birth and found thanks to an improbable coincidence . South African Police have been mostly quiet about the case . A police spokesman , Andre Traut , confirmed that a woman was arrested last week and charged with kidnapping and falsely pretending that she was the girl 's biological mother . Zephany was a newborn when she was taken from a Cape Town hospital in 1997 . She is 17 and in her final year of school . In fact , according to local reports , that 's how she crossed paths with her biological parents , Celeste and Morne Nurse . According to the South African Press Association , an independent news agency , students at their second daughter 's school unknowingly solved the kidnapping . The second daughter , who was born four years after Zephany was kidnapped , started eighth grade at a Cape Town school this year , according to SAPA . Fellow students told her there was a girl in her final year of school who looked just like her , the news agency reported . The two girls became friends , according to SAPA , and eventually , Morne Nurse made up an excuse to meet his daughter 's new friend . He , too , was taken by the similarities and contacted the police , SAPA reported . A DNA test was done , and last week police arrested the 50-year-old woman who had raised Zephany . The woman made an initial appearance before a judge who ruled that she would remain behind bars at least until her next hearing . The shocking revelation has no easy conclusion . While Zephany 's biological parents have said in interviews over the years that they never lost hope of finding her , for now , the girl is in the custody of the social services . The Nurses have been allowed to visit Zephany for short periods , South African media reported . And on Tuesday , Zephany herself released a statement , via the Centre for Child Law , which is representing her . `` I want to say thank you to all the people who supported me through this , for continuously praying and never giving up on looking for me , '' she said . `` Under the circumstances , I am doing fine . ''
Celeste and Morne Nurse 's baby was stolen from the hospital in 1997 . 17 years later , their child has been found .