NEW YORK (AA) – Kamiyah Mobley, abducted from a hospital in Florida more than 18 years ago as a newborn, was found alive in South Carolina, the city’s sheriff said Friday.
A woman posing as a health care worker approached the mother of the hours-old baby, took her and walked out of what was University Medical Center, now UF Health-Jacksonville, in 1998, Sheriff Mike Williams told reporters at a news conference.
During the last 18 years, the sheriff’s office pursued nearly 2,500 investigative leads and tips related to this case, Williams said. The South Carolina lead came in last year, he said, and investigators traveled to find out.
“In South Carolina, we found an 18-year-old young woman, with the same date of birth but a different name,” he said, without revealing her identity out of respect for her privacy.
“Fraudulent documents have been used to establish the young woman’s identity,” he said
Earlier this week, the office obtained DNA samples from the woman, and testing confirmed she was indeed Kamiah Mobley.
“She appears to be in good health, she appears to be a normal 18-year-old young woman,” he said.
“She has a lot to process. She has a lot to think about, as you can imagine. I cannot even begin to comprehend this,” he added.
Police arrested 51-year-old Gloria Williams at the residence where Mobley was living.
The investigation continues.
