Infant kidnapped from family’s home by fake protective services worker, Ohio cops say

An Ohio woman is accused of impersonating a Child Protective Services worker in order to kidnap a newborn from her family’s Canton home, police told news outlets.

The woman entered the family’s home on Thursday, March 16, wearing a name tag and wielding paperwork, the baby’s parents told the Canton Police Department, The Repository reported. She picked up the 3-week-old girl and left.

In shock and suspicious that the woman wasn’t who she claimed to be, the family called 911, the newspaper reported. The mother also reached out to CPS and learned the agency had no records of her daughter.

“Somebody came by, left me with all three of my three sons, took my daughter, didn’t give me a phone number,” the mother told police, WBNS reported. “It’s been almost 16 hours.”

Detectives began searching for the fake CPS worker on Friday, March 17, WJW reported.

Investigators found the suspect’s license plate number and a deputy later spotted the vehicle and pulled it over, the TV station reported. The woman and a male accomplice were inside along with the kidnapped infant, who was unharmed.

Police arrested a 31-year-old woman and 21-year-old man, WBNS reported.

Investigators learned the woman accused of the kidnapping lives “down the street” from the victim’s house, according to the TV station. She faces kidnapping charges and the man is charged with being an accomplice to the kidnapping.

An investigation into the case is still underway.

This story was originally published March 19, 2023 at 2:08 PM with the headline "Infant kidnapped from family’s home by fake protective services worker, Ohio cops say."