US woman abducted as baby reunites with parents after 23 yrs

LONDON - A woman, who was abducted from a New York hospital as a newborn 23 years ago, has been reunited with her biological parents.

Carlina White was just 19 days old when a mystery woman disguised as a nurse snatched her from Harlem Hospital in 1987.

Carlina told her relatives that she had been raised as Nedra Nance by a suspected drug user with the surname of Pettway in Bridgeport, Connecticut, reports the Telegraph.

She grew suspicious of her ‘mother’ when she could not produce a birth certificate needed to apply for a driving licence.

When confronted, Pettway admitted she was not Carlina’s biological mother but told her conflicting stories, including that her mother was a drug addict who had given her away or who had died of AIDS.

She also gradually realised that she bore no physical resemblance to Pettway.

Carlina, who later moved to Atlanta with her six-year-old daughter, rang the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in December, saying “I feel like I don’t know who I am”.

Investigators, who were familiar with what was the longest running unsolved case on their books, showed Carlina photographs of herself before her abduction that matched images of her as a baby taken by her family.

Her mother Joy White was contacted on January 5 and given the news that justified the faith she had shown for 23 years that her baby was still alive.

After seeing photographs of her grown daughter, she said: “I knew right away it was her. I was at work. I screamed and cried and ran downstairs.”

A DNA test soon confirmed that Carlina was her daughter.

Now getting used to her new life, she said: “I’m so happy, but at the same time it’s a funny feeling because everything’s brand new. It’s like being born again.” (ANI)