Man held after New Zealand baby kidnap

The kidnapping of baby Kahurautete shocked New Zealanders

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- A 54-year-old man has been remanded in custody without plea in connection with the kidnapping of the baby of a senior New Zealand judge and his prominent lawyer wife.

Eight-month-old Kahurautete Durie was found alive and well by police Sunday evening after being abducted at gunpoint in suburban Wellington eight days ago.

The baby, the adopted daughter of High Court justice Eddie Durie and Maori lawyer Donna Hall, was found in a small North Island town after police followed up a $1.35 million (NZ$ 3 million) ransom demand.

The man appeared Monday morning in the Taumarunui District Court -- the town where the baby was found -- and was remanded to appear Friday in the Lower Hutt District Court.

CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition

The man's name was suppressed and no plea was entered.

The crime has shocked New Zealand, a country where child kidnappings are rare.

Police, who said they had kept the ransom demand secret to ensure the baby's safety, said the kidnapper was a stranger to the family.

"I think he was acting alone and didn't know them at all," Detective Inspector Stuart Wildon, head of the inquiry, told Radio New Zealand.

When the kidnapping first occurred there were suggestions the crime could have been politically motivated.

Durie chairs the country's sometimes controversial Waitangi Tribunal, which makes judgments on land and natural resources ownership issues concerning New Zealand's indigenous Maori people.

Hall has also been a prominent advocate in legal actions concerning Maori resources issues, and has at times championed unpopular causes