Fake nurse ‘steals’ newborn baby from hospital by stuffing it in rucksack

05 January 2024 , 15:46

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Fake nurse ‘steals’ newborn baby from hospital by stuffing it in rucksack

A woman disguised herself as a nurse before snatching a newborn baby from a hospital in El Salvador and made off with it in a rucksack.

Chilling CCTV footage shows how the woman looks around to check the coast is clear in Hospital San Juan de Dios, Nueva Guadalupe, San Miguel, and she is then seen stashing the swaddled infant into a backpack. After zipping the bag up, she slung him over her shoulder and walked calmly towards the exit.

The National Civil Police of El Salvador launched an urgent investigation and less than two hours later, the force revealed that the newborn had been found and that a couple had been arrested who were allegedly pretending to be the parents. A search though is continuing for the woman who was imitating a nurse in the hospital and stole the baby.

The woman filmed putting the baby in a bag (Jam Press Vid)

The woman was pretending to be a nurse (Jam Press Vid)

The police said in a statement: "We have located in Nueva Guadalupe, San Miguel, the baby who was stolen this morning in Hospital San Juan de Dios. He is being looked after by specialist medics who are checking over him before returning him to his family. The incident happened this morning when the woman dressed up as a nurse robbed him from the hospital. We have caught a man and a woman who were pretending to be the parents.”

She told the mum that she needed to take the baby for immunisations (Jam Press Vid)

Police issued footage of the woman (Jam Press Vid)

The police said they are still looking for the woman who was pretending to be the nurse. “We are continuing to look for the woman who was imitating a nurse and other people who may have been involved," it added. The incident happened on December 30 with the baby’s family claiming that the supposed nurse told the mother around 5:30am that she needed to take the newborn to give him immunisations. The family of the baby has also criticised the hospital’s lack of security.

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

The baby pictured after he was recovered (Jam Press)

The police have not revealed how the infant was located but just said that it was in an area of San Miguel around 15 miles from the hospital. Meanwhile, after hearing that the infant had been recovered, Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele wrote on social media: “The real human rights. Thank God.”

Tim Hanlon