SANFORD -- A newborn baby, kidnapped from a Sanford hospital Friday afternoon, has been found safe.
Police said Jennifer Latham originally tried to take another baby, but was confronted by the parents. That’s when she took the 1-day-old boy.
Detectives said the hospital's alarm system went off around 1:45 p.m. immediately after the baby was taken.
Employees were able to get a partial tag number and description of the Latham's car, which allowed Sanford and Lake Mary police officers to quickly find Latham's car along Interstate 4 in Longwood.
"The child was still clothed in hospital gowns, hospital attire. The child was brought back immediately to Central Florida Regional Hospital. The child was brought back to the emergency room, has since been reunited with the parents. The child is in good shape. I want to emphasize the hospital security did an excellent job trying to apprehend this woman. She managed to get out the door. The information they provided was critical to us successfully finding this child,” said Chief Brian Tooley from the Sanford Police Department.
Police said the baby was in good condition, and was taken back to the hospital where he was reunited with his parents.
At first police thought there were two women involved in the kidnapping. Latham had actually changed into hospital clothing prior to the kidnapping, which allowed her access to areas in the hospital.
Charges against Latham are pending. Police are trying to figure out why she kidnapped the child.
Hospital Security For Babies
Florida ranks third in the country for infant abductions from health care facilities, homes or wherever newborns are at.
Between 1983 through 2007, there were 18 abductions in Florida, with 250 nationwide.
There are several companies online that sell security systems to hospitals.
Some of them use bracelet devices that alert the hospital when a baby is taken without authorization, or when the bracelet is cut.
News 13 spoke with several hospitals who said they have a code pink system in place that sounds alarms if a baby is stolen. However, hospital staffers don't want to completely reveal their security plans.
At Central Florida Regional Medical Center, where the baby was stolen from, a code pink disaster plan is in place.
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