She Was Kidnapped as an Infant 18 Years Ago, and Now She's Been Found
When a kidnapping goes unsolved for 18 years, the chances of finding the victim are next to impossible. But the impossible happened this week when an 18-year-old woman learned she was Kamiyah Mobley, a girl kidnapped as an infant.
Kamiyah grew up believing she was the daughter of Gloria Williams, but a recent DNA test revealed she was Kamiyah Mobley, daughter of Shanara Mobley and Craig Aiken, who was kidnapped from a hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, when she was only eight hours old. Her new name has not been made public to protect her privacy.
The girl's biological mother, Shanara Mobley, said that a woman dressed in scrubs, whom she believed was a nurse, entered Mobley's room shortly after she gave birth in 1998 and told her that her baby had a fever and needed to be seen by a doctor. The woman then left the room with the child, never to be seen again until now.
Hospital staff believed the woman was a member of Mobley's family, which is why no one questioned her being in the room or holding the child. That woman has now been identified as Gloria Williams, who took the baby and raised her as her own.
But, over the years, Kamiya became suspicious that she was not related to the family who raised her. When authorities discovered the girl with the same birthdate as the missing child living in South Carolina, they contacted her and asked her to take a DNA test. The test identified her as the missing girl.
Williams, 51, was arrested and charged with kidnapping and interfering with custody. She could face life in prison if convicted. Kamiya and her parents have not been reunited. Because she is 18, it will be up to her to decide if she wants to see them.
Kamiya's parents said they never gave up hope of finding her. "Every day you get up. There's always hope," her biological father, Craig Aiken told the Florida Times-Union. "I wake up and believe she's awake, too. There's always hope."
[H/T Florida Times-Union]
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