MONROE, La. — A woman told staff at a northern Louisiana hospital that she was pregnant prior to abducting a three-day-old baby boy from a mother in the maternity ward, officials say.
Anquinisha Cummings allegedly befriended a brand-new mother Saturday at the St. Francis Medical Focus in Monroe, talked to her for several hrs then walked away along with the infant while the mother joined the restroom, Monroe Police spokesman Det. Chris Bates told 48 Hours’ Crimesider. The youngster was discovered safely at the suspect’s mother’s estate regarding an hr later and Cummings was charged along with one matter of aggravated kidnapping of a child, Bates said.
Cummings had checked in to the hospital’s emergency department earlier in the day, claiming that she was 12-weeks pregnant and was having complications, Bates said. The pregnancy state turned out to be false, police say.
Cummings later approached a mother that had lately provided birth and joined the hospital’s maternity ward, four floors above the emergency room. Police point out Cummings told the mother she was a good friend of a good friend and was there to deliver a gift. After the 2 talked for several hrs and Cummings had gained the mother’s trust, Bates said, the mother went to the restroom and Cummings decided on up the youngster from its bassinet and walked from the hospital.
Bates said the mother as soon as possible notified hospital security, that in transform notified an off-duty Monroe police officer functioning on the hospital’s campus.
“Our officer as soon as possible went in to action and did the points he had to do to have the ability to get hold of that youngster back,” Bates said.
Hospital staff recalled the incident earlier as soon as Bates allegedly claimed to be pregnant, and investigators retrieved the emergency room’s registration article and video surveillance footage.
“That’s as soon as they viewed that lady carrying the child” on the video, Bates said. Cummings wasn’t questioned or stopped prior to she apparently walked from the hospital along with the infant.
Cummings left her genuine name and several addresses as soon as she registered in the emergency department, Bates said. as soon as the mother identified Cummings from the surveillance footage, police began seeing the addresses Cummings left along with the hospital.
Bates said a “BOLO” or “be on the lookout” alert for Cummings was issued to regional and point out authorities shortly after the abduction.
The youngster was gradually discovered at Cummings mother’s home, where police point out an “unknown woman” had dropped her off. The infant was discovered in regarding an hour, unharmed, and was quickly re-united along with his mother, Bates said.
Cummings later turned herself in to police. She is being held free of bond.
Bates said he didn’t have actually a lot more details regarding the woman that dropped the youngster off along with Cummings’ mother. He said Cummings had told family and friends that she was pregnant, however he wasn’t sure whether she gained the false state to the infant’s mother as well.
In a statement released to CBS affiliate KNOE, the hospital said staff there “took immediate action” after the abduction and cooperated along with law enforcement. The hospital was placed on lockdown throughout the incident, the statement said.
“We have actually increased our 24/7 security presence in the hospital and are going through all of aspects of this incident and researching added national safety/security finest practices,” the statement said.
The hospital says it’s undergoing an “extensive review of all of policies, procedures, education and training, and security technology” in the wake of the incident.
“We at St. Francis Medical Focus believe that the security of each patient is integral to the mission of our hospital,” the statement said. “The good news is the end outcome of this circumstance is every person involved is safe, sound and secure.”
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