Woman Posing as Hospital Worker Kidnaps Infant

A woman posing as a hospital volunteer kidnapped a week-old girl at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Bellflower on Monday after offering to help the infant’s parents obtain a crib for their daughter, sheriff’s deputies said.

Officers said the abduction, which occurred about 4:30 p.m., was captured on a surveillance videotape. The suspect and the missing child were being sought Monday night.

The identity of the couple had not been released late Monday. Officers said the child’s first name is Cindy. She was born last week at Doctors Hospital in East Los Angeles.

Dru Ann Copping, a hospital spokeswoman, said the abduction sent a ripple of concern throughout the facility.

“Some of the [new] mothers from upstairs are very upset and worried,” Copping said.

The incident began Monday afternoon, when the woman telephoned the parents at their home in Compton, identified herself as a hospital volunteer and offered to help the couple obtain a crib for Cindy, deputies said.

Deputy Britta Tubbs said the woman went to the home and she, the couple and the infant drove back to the hospital at 9400 Rosecrans Ave. in the family’s car.

Deputy Bob Stoneman said that after they entered the hospital lobby, the woman left for a few moments, saying she had to check on the crib. Stoneman said that when the woman returned, she told the father to move his car to the front entrance, so it would be easier to load the crib into the vehicle. The father went to move the automobile.

“The woman then told the mother that she wanted to show the baby to some friends,” Tubbs said. “The mother stayed in the waiting room while the woman left with the baby. The woman never returned.”

Tubbs said the father came back moments later, and after waiting with increasing anxiety for about half an hour, the couple notified security that Cindy was missing. Security personnel notified the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

“The mother was so upset that it was tough for her to give us a good description of the woman,” Stoneman said. “Fortunately, we have a shot of the woman on the camera.”

Stoneman said the security video camera, which is mounted in the lobby, runs 24 hours a day. The pictures it took show the woman walking rapidly out of the lobby, carrying the baby cradled in both arms and what appeared to be a diaper bag over her shoulder.

Investigators said the woman told the couple that her first name is Maricela. The couple do not recall being told any last name.

The missing woman was described as a Latina in her 20s who told the couple she was seven months pregnant. At the time of the abduction, her dark hair was tied back with a light-colored bow. She was wearing a dark-colored sweater and pants.

As the distraught parents climbed into a sheriff’s car for the lonely trip home Monday night, they carried with them a baby carrier, empty except for a small stuffed animal.