Illegal alien tries to kidnap a new born from the hospital

Woman allegedly tries to kidnap newborn from hospital in tote bag

By Olsen Ebright, NBCLosAngeles.com

A California woman was arrested Monday on suspicion of kidnapping after she allegedly posed as a Garden Grove Medical Center employee and stole a newborn girl from a mother's hospital room, police said.

The suspect was identified Monday evening as 48-year-old Grisel Ramirez, of Garden Grove, according to Sgt. William Allison with Garden Grove Police Department.

The woman -- who was wearing scrubs and possibly a visitor's pass -- walked into the mother's room on the fifth floor and told the patient the doctor would be right in, said Jeff Nightengale of the Garden Grove Police Department.

The suspect told the woman, "'Why don't you take a shower,' or something to that effect," Nightengale said.

"The mother got up, went into the shower, and when that happened, she took the newborn and put her inside the tote bag," Nightengale said.

When the alleged kidnapper left the room, a monitoring device on the baby girl triggered an alarm.

"An alert employee at the hospital heard the alarm go off, confronted her, stopped her, detained her until we arrived at the location," Nightengale said.

The baby was not injured and has since been reunited with her mother, Nightengale said.

The incident happened shortly after 10 a.m. Monday at Garden Grove Medical Center, located at 12601 Garden Grove Blvd., police said.
Earlier in the day, police said Ramirez -- a 20-year resident of Garden Grove -- was being uncooperative. "(She) lived in the United States for 20 years, but we don't think that she's a legal resident of the country," Nightengale said.

Woman allegedly tries to kidnap newborn from hospital in tote bag - U.S. News

It just makes one wonder what she wanted the baby for...

Police: Calif. woman tried to steal newborn from a hospital after faking pregnancy
By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, August 7, 7:06 PM

LOS ANGELES — A woman who snatched an infant from an Orange County hospital had lied to her estranged husband that she was pregnant and was trying to continue her deception, police said Tuesday.

Grisel Ramirez, 48, allegedly disguised herself in hospital scrubs and posed as a visitor to enter the hospital where she attempted to abduct a baby from Garden Grove Medical Center on Monday, Lt. Jeff Nightengale said.

The husband had no idea she wasn’t pregnant and was shocked to learn she tried to steal a baby to back her claims, Nightengale said.

“She perpetuated this myth for several months, and they don’t live together and don’t see each other, so the husband totally believed it,” said Nightengale.

When the due date passed, Ramirez’ husband pressed her to meet the child, asking questions like “When do I get to meet my daughter? When do I need to sign the birth certificate?”

“We interviewed him last night and he for sure thought he was the father of a baby girl,” Nightengale said. “He was upset and devastated that it wasn’t true.”

Ramirez, a waitress, also may have approached several expectant moms and asked about their due dates and their baby’s gender at Western Medical Center-Anaheim on July 26, Nightengale said.

An expectant mom grew suspicious of the questions and alerted hospital staff, who alerted police.

There was no surveillance video available at the hospital, so police did a photo lineup for the people who witnessed the woman’s strange activity and they positively identified Ramirez as the inquisitive lurker.

Garden Grove Medical Center Director Sofia Abrina said Tuesday that Ramirez presented herself as a visitor who wanted to visit a patient when she entered the hospital Monday.

Abrina said when a sensor attached to a bracelet around the baby’s ankle set off alarms, everyone in the ward began searching and running head counts on patients until Ramirez was apprehended.

Ramirez is accused of entering the room of the baby’s mother and posing as a nurse who told the mom to take a shower before a doctor came to examine her.

Once the baby’s mother was out of the room, Ramirez allegedly put the newborn in a purple tie-dyed tote bag and tried to carry her out of the ward, setting off the alarm.

Many hospital wards have security systems where patients, such as newborns or those with Alzheimer’s disease, are tagged with an electronic sensor — usually in a bracelet or anklet — that sets off an alarm when the patient leaves a certain perimeter.

The baby wasn’t harmed during the short time she was in the tote and was returned to the care of her mother.

Authorities have not yet filed any charges against Ramirez.

Ramirez is being held without bail and is due for arraignment Wednesday.

Police: Calif. woman tried to steal newborn from a hospital after faking pregnancy - The Washington Post