A woman posing as a nurse was arrested after she allegedly kidnapped a newborn from a hospital in Paraguay and attempted to flee with the girl across the border to Argentina.
It was a terrifying three and a half hours before police captured the baby snatcher and returned the child to her mother.
Natalia González, 39, was allegedly caught on surveillance camera carrying the one-day-old from a room at Barrio Obrero Hospital in Asunción on Thursday at about 1pm, local time.
González, a mother-of-two who resides in the Argentine province of Formosa, rushed out of the medical facility and boarded a bus to Mercado 4, a street market, where she then hopped on a taxi to the neighborhood of Loma Pyta, authorities said.
She asked the driver which bus she needed to take to reach the town of Nanawa, near the border of Argentina. González was spotted just 164 feet from the border crossing, when she was arrested by the police.
Cellphone footage showed González holding the baby and sitting on a chair as arresting officers began to question her and remove the baby from her arms.
Two cops could be seen struggling to restrain her before they were finally able to handcuff her.
The childs maternal grandmother told Paraguays ABC Color newspaper that she was having a drink with González moments before she fled.
I asked my daughter where the baby was and she told me that a nurse had taken her to pediatric, she recalled. I told her that she was not a nurse. We ran after the lady because we saw her with the baby in her arms.
Natalia González was caught on camera kidnapping a one-day-old girl from a hospital in Asunción, Paraguay on Thursday and was arrested near the border with the Argentina town of Clorinda before she could escape
Natalia González, a mother-of-two, told police investigators that babys 19-year-old father had offered her 1 million Paraguayan guaranis, about $127, to abduct his newborn baby from the hospital and hand over to a man to take the child into Argentina
González was interrogated Friday morning by investigators and alleged that the babys father, Isaias, had offered her 1 million Paraguayan guaranis, about $127, to abduct the girl and hand her over to a man in Nanawa.
He was at the hospital. He came out and told me what time he was going to leave so I could come in, González said, according to a police report obtained by ABC Color newspaper.
The grandmother wasnt there because he kept her busy.
González claimed that Isaias later provided her a bus fare card and cash, and that she handed him a backpack containing the nurse scrubs that she wore to appear as a staff member.
She also told investigators that a third person who was involved in the kidnapping was not apprehended when she was stopped in Nanawa.
The babys father, 19-year-old Isaias, told NPY news that he saw González when he stepped out of the room and thought she was a regular hospital visitor.
He denied her claims that he offered her money to abduct his own daughter.
That lady is crazy. She talks all for nothing, Isaias said. She is slandering me.
A surveillance camera at Barrio Obrero Hospital in Asunción captured Natalia González carrying the one-day-old baby before fleeing the medical facility
Natalia González, who was arrested for kidnapping a one-day-old baby from a hospital in Paraguay, is a native of Argentina and a mother-of-two who resides in the province of Formosa
Natalia González was questioned Friday and told police investigators that she was offered 1 million Paraguayan guaranis, around $127, to take the one-day-old baby (pictured in her arms) by her 19-year-old father, a claim that he has denied
Natalia González was spotted walking through a market moments after abducting a one-day-old baby girl from a hospital in Asunción, Paraguay
Isaias volunteered to be investigated by the police to prove his innocence.
They can seize my phone. I have nothing to hide. Thats why I asked for leave from work and came, he said.
Barrio Obrego Hospital director, Dr. Adán Godoy, told Hoy newspaper that more has to be done to improve security measures at hospitals throughout Paraguay to prevent the incident from repeating itself.
It is imperative to implement a strict record of people entering, including not only the personal doctor, but also the patients companions, establishing visiting hours and no more than one companion per patient, he said.
We will provide more suggestions to improve security and have a very rigid and strict protocol.
Gody added that González may have visited the medical facility in the days prior to snatching the baby.
Natalia González was caught by a security camera boarding a bus with the baby after snatching her from her mother at Barrio Obrero Hospital in Asunción, Paraguay. The 39-year-old mother-of-two took the bus to the town of Nanawa, where she was arrested near the Argentina border city of Clorinda
We believe that in the previous days, she was looking for a potential victim to steal a child, he said. We do not know if he is a person with psychiatric problems or is part of a trafficking network, justice will take care of that.
The hospital official said that the babys mother arrived in pain at the hospital Wednesday and underwent a Caesarean section after doctors diagnosed her with an infection.
He added that González may have visited the medical facility in the days prior to snatching the baby.
We believe that in the previous days, she was looking for a potential victim to steal a child, Godoy said. We do not know if he is a person with psychiatric problems or is part of a trafficking network, justice will take care of that.