Newborn baby abducted from Jacksonville hospital 18 years ago found alive and safe
JACKSONVILLE, FL (KTRK) -- A girl who was abducted 18 years ago from a Jacksonville, Fla. hospital has been found alive and safe, and a woman has been arrested in connection to the kidnapping.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office confirmed that Kamiyah Mobley was located in Walterboro, S.C. Mobley was taken from a hospital in Jacksonville hours after she was born in 1998.
According to the sheriff's office, 51-year-old Gloria Williams was arrested Friday morning at her South Carolina home and charged with kidnapping and interference.
Officials say Williams is from Walterboro, S.C.
"Last year we received a tip that broke the case," Sheriff Mike Williams said in a news conference Friday.
South Carolina found an 18-year-old woman with the same date of birth but a different name, and officials believe fraudulent documents had been used to establish her identity.
In the interest of reducing any further trauma, authorities are not releasing the name she has been using.
Earlier this week, she submitted DNA that was tested, and last night investigators received confirmation that she was in fact Kamiyah Mobley.
Authorities say that Mobley appears in good health and is a normal 18-year-old woman/
Sheriff Williams said that Mobley grew up believing that the woman who kidnapped her was her biological mother. But a couple of months ago, she began to have an inclination that she may have been involved in an abduction.
There were other family members living in the home with Mobley and Gloria Williams, Sheriff Williams said. However, officials say they have no other suspects.
Meanwhile, Mobley's biological family has been notified, and they say they are elated. Investigators are continuing to talk with the extended family.
Mobley will be extradited back to Jacksonville, but because she is 18, it is up to her to decide if she wants to reunite with her family.
"This is a very complicated investigation. We are the beginning of this investigation," Sheriff Williams said.
As for the charges Williams faces, there is no minimum mandatory on time served for kidnapping. It is a first degree felony punishable by up to life, while interference of custody is a third degree felony with a maximum of up to five years, according to the state attorney.
