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Nurse's aide arraigned in KY hospital infant abductio

Healthcare Security Weekly, April 12, 2004

A nurse's aide for the Fort Logan Hospital in Stanford, KY, was charged with kidnapping last week after allegedly abducting a newborn girl with respiratory problems, the Courier-News reports.


Tonya Dionne Shelton, 24, of Lexington, worked part-time at the hospital since 2002. It is unclear whether she was on duty when the abduction occurred.


Two weeks ago, Shelton allegedly stepped into the mother's hospital room and offered to help the tired mother a few hours after she'd given birth. Shelton then slipped out of the room with the baby, raising suspicions from other nurses in the area. Within five minutes, the hospital went into lockdown, but Shelton already fled with the baby.

A five-hour statewide search immediately ensued. A passerby found the baby alive behind a consignment shop 130 miles away from the hospital with the umbilical cord still attached.

Police found Shelton only 18 miles from the infant en route to Tennessee.

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