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Staff prevent infant abduction at California hospital

Healthcare Security Weekly, May 19, 2004

An emergency room worker stopped a woman, disguised as a physician, from kidnapping a baby from Victor Valley Community Hospital in Victorville, CA, last week, according to the Daily Press.

Hospital security detained Alice Cross, 35, after she entered the emergency waiting room at the hospital around midnight on Wednesday, May 12. Cross allegedly told staff she was visiting a relative. However, while waiting, Cross stole a set of car keys and a cell phone from a nurse's purse and left the premises.

She later returned wearing a white doctor's coat, blue scrub hat, latex gloves, and surgical booties, according to Victorville Sheriff's Department, Sgt. Rick Roelle.

Cross allegedly went to the hospital nursery and asked whether she could hold a baby. The emergency worker didn't recognize Cross as a hospital employee and wouldn't let her hold any babies, and called security instead.

Hospital security questioned Cross until the police arrived.

"The hospital did a good job questioning her and getting security out there to detain her before we could arrive," Roelle said. "She said that a relative recently had a miscarriage, so now she wanted to save a baby. It was bizarre. It didn't really make much sense, but that was her statement."

Cross, whom police arrested, admitted to police that she planned to kidnap a baby and steal a vehicle.

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