An El Salvadorian newborn is safe after video surveillance showed a woman who was posing as a nurse stole him from a hospital last Saturday.
Woman disguised as nurse steals newborn from hospital, stashes it in rucksack https://t.co/PcsGToFI0W pic.twitter.com/lvpHOZr6i0
— New York Post (@nypost) January 6, 2024
The disturbing footage, which has gone viral, shows the unidentified woman, dressed as a nurse, walking through the San Juan de Dios hospital in San Miguel, holding the newborn in her arms. A patient can be seen walking by as she turns, stuffs the baby into a backpack, and walks toward the exit.
Before the kidnapping on December 30, 2023, the fake nurse told the newborn’s mother that she was taking him down to get his immunizations around 5:30 a.m. The mother was unaware that her baby had been taken until an actual nurse came in to check on the baby.
The National Civil Police of El Salvador launched an immediate investigation and reported that the newborn was located less than two hours after he was stolen 15 miles away. He was found with a man and a woman claiming to be the parents, who were arrested on-site.
“We have located in Nueva Guadalupe, San Miguel, the baby who was stolen this morning in Hospital San Juan de Dios,” said in a statement. “He is being looked after by specialist medics who are checking over him before returning him to his family. The incident happened this morning when the woman dressed up as a nurse robbed him from the hospital. We have caught a man and a woman who were pretending to be the parents.”
According to relatives, the mother and newborn went through a high-risk birth and needed medical supervision to ensure that his condition stabilized before being discharged. The newborn’s family has criticized the hospital for its lack of security.
Police stated that the investigation is ongoing and that the woman will be “punished to the fullest extent of the law” when caught.
El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele was happy to hear about the newborn’s safe return, writing in a post on X, “The real human rights. Thank God.”
