PITTSBURGH — A 3-day-old boy who was abducted from a Pittsburgh hospital Thursday afternoon was found unharmed about five hours later and a suspect was taken into custody, police spokeswoman Diane Richards said.
The abduction happened just after 1 p.m. The baby was found on the 21st floor of a downtown building, a mile away from the Magee-Womens Hospital, where the boy went missing as his family was getting ready to take him home.
The suspect, an unidentified woman who appeared to be in her mid-20s, smiled and laughed as she was taken out of a police cruiser for questioning, sparking even more questions in the case.
“It’s a lot when you lose a child,” she told a cluster of reporters, adding that it “wasn’t just me.”
Susan Manko, a spokeswoman for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which includes the hospital, said the suspect is not believed to be a UPMC employee. The hospital said in a statement that the baby was examined by a doctor and was in “good health” and was reunited with his mother.
Authorities said the suspect apparently purchased a hospital uniform Thursday morning at a nearby store and told the clerk she was starting training.
Charmaine King, who identified herself as the child’s grandmother, told local media that the suspect pretended to be a nurse at the hospital and told King’s daughter that she was just taking the child for a final test before the family takes the baby home. King said her daughter called her and started screaming: “Mom, they can’t find my baby!”
UPMC said in a statement that a nurse removed a security tag from the baby at 12:34 p.m., with the mother present, and that the hospital determined the baby was missing about 45 minutes later.
— Associated Press
This Pittsburgh Post-Gazette video offers a visual chronology:
