Lubbock, TX Nurse impostor snatches ill newborn

[Miss Mary]

Please pray they find this baby ASAP! I cannot even imagine what the parents are going through right now....

From CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/10/newbor ... index.html

Story Highlights

• Mychel Darthard-Dawodu weighs about 6 pounds and needs medical attention
• Official: Suspect posed as nurse, removed infant's security bracelet
• Infant could face life-threatening situation if given cow's milk, doctor says
• The kidnapper is believed to be driving a red Dodge pickup with black trim

LUBBOCK, Texas (CNN) -- A woman posing as a nurse abducted a 3-day-old girl in need of medical attention from a hospital in Lubbock, Texas, on Saturday, police said.

The African-American infant, Mychael Darthard-Dawodu, has jaundice and weighs about 6 pounds, according to the Amber Alert issued by Lubbock Police Department.

The suspect went into the mother's hospital room and "told the family they needed to take the baby for some tests and left the room," said Lubbock Police Lt. Scott Hudgens at a news conference. (Watch security camera footage of the woman suspect )

Mychael was wearing a security bracelet, but it was removed, said Gwen Stafford, senior vice president of Covenant Medical Center.

"The hospital has a very sophisticated state-of-the-art security system, which is of course backed up with camera surveillance throughout the hospital," she said.

Family members and hospital staff have watched the surveillance video and say they do not recognize the woman, police said.

Stafford said later in a news conference that she would not release details about the mother because of privacy concerns, but the mother was "distraught and devastated, and again, our heart goes out to her."

One of the chief concerns would be the child's nourishment, said Dr. Marc Siegel of New York University's medical school.

"The biggest problem is that babies, within the first three days, need either mother's milk or an electrolyte solution. They can't have cow's milk," Siegel said.

Siegel also said that if they don't get nutrition quickly "there would be a life-threatening problem. Time is of the essence."

Hudgens issued an appeal to the kidnapper: "Please take [the infant] to some place safe, and drop [her] off if need be. That's our main concern right now, the safety of this child."

Police say Mychael could still be with the suspected kidnapper, who is driving a late-model red Dodge pickup truck with black trim and tinted windows.

Another person may have been in the truck when the suspect got in it with the baby, Hudgens said.

The suspected kidnapper has a medium build and was last seen wearing pink nurse's scrubs with purple and blue flowers and a gray or tan winter coat with a fur hood, police said.

She is about 5 feet 3 inches tall, African-American, in her 20s, and her hair is dyed auburn, the Amber Alert said.

Anyone with information about the kidnapping is asked to call the Lubbock Police Department at 806-775-2788, 806-775-2816 or 806-741-1000

[southerngale]

Oh my... I can't even imagine what the parents are going through! The ONLY good news is that the kidnapper probably won't harm the baby because she probably just wants one of her own. So hopefully, they will find the baby quickly and return him to his parents. And hopefully, the witch who stole him, had enough sense to have formula so the baby can get proper nourishment until he's found. Then lock her up for good!

It is impossible to understand how anyone can do this. Prayers for that baby and the family...my heart breaks for them.

[pojo]

I saw this on CNN... This is horrible news. Where were the OB-GYN nurses when this was happening?

[tropicana]

why why why is this world so full of evil-minded people.
geez. im more astounded every single day.

-justin-

[Miss Mary]

Our prayers were answered - baby found and she's okay!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/11/newbor ... index.html

Kelly - I had the same thoughts. Hoping this imposter wanted a baby so badly, she just took it from a hospital nursery. That she wouldn't harm it. Not like a mollester would (shuddering to think in that direction).

Mary

[Chacor]

An Amber Alert was issued but later cancelled, so I presumed the baby was safe. Thank goodness she is indeed safe.

[GalvestonDuck]

Amber Alerts are cancelled sometimes even when the child is still missing. Once the "alert" has been issued and the information is out there, there's not always a reason to keep it active. That probably doesn't make sense, but that's how it works.

But praise the Lord the baby was found alive!

[george_r_1961]

I saw this on CNN... This is horrible news. Where were the OB-GYN nurses when this was happening?

Shannon I was asking myself the same question. At the OB ward at the local hospital here you dont get access unless u are a registered visitor(registered with security) or a hospital employee assigned to that unit OR one with a reason to be there. You cant just put on scrubs, which BTW are available at any uniform store, and walk around unchallenged.

[TexasStooge]

Thank goodness the baby was found alive.

For all I know, the impersonator is probably wanting a baby all to herself.

[TexasStooge]

Family seeks privacy after kidnap ordeal

LUBBOCK, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — A woman accused of disguising herself in scrubs and snatching a newborn from a Texas hospital was in custody in New Mexico on Monday, while the tiny girl was back in her mother's arms, police said.

"We're just happy to have her back," the little girl's grandfather, Darrell Darthard, said at a hospital news conference, thanking police and supporters while the baby's mother quietly held her in a purple blanket.

Police found 4-day-old Mychael Darthard-Dawodu on Sunday in Clovis, N.M., a day after she was taken from Lubbock's Covenant Lakeside Hospital, about 100 miles to the southeast. The newborn was abducted by a woman who police said disguised herself in scrubs to spirit the baby to New Mexico.

Full Story Here
[hr]
I don't blame them, considering what just happened last weekend.