Police are searching for a 2-year-old boy, who is believed to have been snatched during an attempted rape on his mother in Delportshoop, Northern Cape.

"It is alleged that the suspect went into the house of the complainant and attempted to rape her," police spokesperson Captain Olebogeng Tawana said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The complainant was sleeping in her house in Delportshoop when the suspect threatened to kill her, and in the process attempted to rape her."

The man managed to run away following a struggle with the woman.

"It is suspected that, in the event, the suspect snatched a 2-year-old boy, who is the complainant's child," Tawana said.

The toddler has not yet been found, however, an outfit believed to have been worn by the boy was found in a veld adjacent to the residential area in Delportshoop where the attack took place, Tawana said.

The attacker has since been arrested and is due to appear in the Barkly West Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.

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