1988 In Tampa, Florida, a baby girl was taken from a hospital in Jacksonville.
18 years later, the woman has been found safe, Florida authorities have confirmed. The woman whom she believed to be her mother has been arrested for kidnapping. According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Kamiyah Mobley who is now 18 years old was located in Walterboro, South Carolina, and her identity has been confirmed through DNA testing.
Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said at a news conference that the victim appeared to be in good health and is “a normal 18-year-old woman”.
“This young woman was abducted as a newborn, and she is going to need time and assistance to process all this,” Williams said. “She is taking it as well as you can imagine.”
Naturally, the woman’s biological family was completely speechless when they learned the news and it will be up to the victim to determine any future contact.
Mobley was found through tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The woman was allegedly living under a different name established through fraudulent documents, however authorities have not released that name.
“She had an inclination beginning probably a couple of months ago that she may have been involved in this in some way,” the sheriff said.
According to the 1998 incident report, Mobley was just a few hours old when a woman, dressed as a nurse in a flowered smock and green hospital pants, abducted her from the hospital.
Gloria Williams, 51, has been arrested in South Carolina on charges of kidnapping and interference with custody, the sheriff said.
“We are speaking to as many people as we can to try to paint a picture of what may have happened 18 years ago,” the sheriff said. “Lots of questions left unanswered.”
Authorities say that Williams will be extradited to Florida and she faces up to life in prison.