Some Chicago locals may have heard the story of Carlina White, who had been kidnapped as a 19-day-old infant and reunited with her biological parents, Joy White and Carl Tyson, at the age of 23. According to the Associated Press, a woman dressed as a nurse abducted White in 1987 after her parents took her to Harlem Hospital to get checked for a fever. No suspects were ever arrested.
White said she grew up in Connecticut under the name Nejdra Nance and was raised by a violent drug addict. She had also assumed for a long time that she was not the woman's real daughter. White's supposed mother could not even provide a birth certificate for her when she became pregnant at 16 and sought prenatal care.
White decided to move to Atlanta, Georgia and live her own after she gave birth to her daughter, who is currently 6 years old. The Center for Missing and Exploited Children helped White find her biological parents, and DNA tests affirmed that she was, in fact, Joy White and Carl Tyson’s missing daughter.
It remains unclear whether any legal action will be taken against the woman who raised Carlina White.
An experienced Illinois family law attorney may explain that the abduction of a child even by his or her own parent can, in some circumstances, also be considered a federal offense in Chicago. In addition to any criminal penalties, a parent who kidnaps his or her own child may be required to pay for the expenses the other parent has spent on searching for the missing child. To learn more about child abduction and protection, visit the Related Resources links below for general information.
Related Resources:
- Talk To An Illinois Family Law Attorney (FindLaw)
- Man Abducts 5-Month-Old Son, Flees To Indiana (FindLaw’s Chicago Family Law Blog)
- Florida Missing Baby Found: Mother & Babysitter Charged (FindLaw’s Blotter Blog)
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