LOS ANGELES – Two incidents of newborn baby abductions have come across the CS news desk recently.
Feb. 23 in Gary, Ind., a 34-year-old man abducted a 1-day-old baby boy from the Northlake Campus of the Methodist Hospitals. The man and an accomplice were captured, and the newborn safely recovered, a short time later.
The suspect, believed to be the baby’s father, may be charged with neglect of a dependent or child endangerment. Methodist staff initiated the hospital’s alert system for infant abduction when the baby was first discovered missing. According to hospital officials, the baby’s security band had been tampered with and found under the mattress.
The infant was taken shortly after his mother informed the father that marijuana had been found in the child’s system.
In a separate incident, a 2-hour-old baby was abducted from St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, Calif, on March 6. The baby was safely returned after the mother talked via cell phone to the father into bringing it back.
Allegedly, the baby’s father simply walked into the hospital, took the infant and went joyriding. Once apprehended, the father was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and child endangerment.