creepy story

Retic chic · 03-02-04, 03:11 PM

Mother Spots Child Believed Dead at Birthday Party

Tuesday, March 02, 2004

PHILADELPHIA — A 10-day-old girl thought to have died in a 1997 fire was actually kidnapped by a woman who set the blaze to cover her tracks, police said Monday. The biological mother contacted authorities after seeing the now 6-year-old at a birthday party and recognizing the child as her own.

Delimar Vera (search) was thought to have perished in the 1997 blaze in her family's home, consumed by the heat and flames of a fast-moving fire blamed on an extension cord for a space heater. No body was ever found.

In January, the child's mother spotted a little girl at a birthday party and was certain she was her daughter, police Capt. John Darby said. A subsequent investigation prompted DNA (search) tests that confirmed the mother's suspicion, police said.

After the DNA confirmation, the child's mother "didn't know whether to cry, to yell or to scream," Officer Manuel Gonzales said. "She just stood in shock. She was just in total shock."

Police have issued a warrant for the arrest of Carolyn Correa (search), 41, of Willingboro, N.J., on charges of arson, kidnapping and conspiracy. She remained at large Monday; a telephone listing for her could not be found.

"This child, now 6 years old, who has been raised by Carolyn Correa as her own, is not her own," Darby said.

The girl's mother, Luz Cuevas, told WPHL-TV she recognized the child from a dimple on her face. "I said to my sister, `Look, she's my daughter,"' Cuevas said.

It was unclear what brought the child and her biological mother to the same party. State Rep. Angel Cruz, who helped the woman contact and work with police after she spotted the little girl, credited "motherly instinct" for connecting mother and child.

Ever since the blaze, the mother held on to the belief her child was somehow alive -- partly because it didn't make sense a window in the infant's room was found to have been open even though it was the middle of December, Cruz said.

The little girl was placed in the custody of New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services (search). It was not immediately clear when she would be reunited with her biological mother.

snakehunter · 03-02-04, 03:17 PM

Small World

drewlowe · 03-02-04, 03:18 PM

Wow, That would be one of the worst things to ever go through!!! I couldn't even imagine how i would react to something like that.

Lrptls · 03-02-04, 03:42 PM

thats some crazy stuff, happy for the mom though, hopefully the little girl will be ok

Gary D. · 03-02-04, 04:00 PM

As a parent, my heart is sickened by this story. I feel so bad for the little girl, as it is her that will have to understand and deal with this which I am certain she is not capable of at her age. Kidnapped at 10 days old, the kidnapper is the only mother she would ever know and no doubt loves dearly. Now she's exposed and running from the police, abandoning her daughter to the care of social services. Her world has been taken and given a shake much like a snow globe. And it will only get worse, guaranteed.

scalawag · 03-02-04, 04:04 PM

On first read this sounded like another "Urban Myth" type story so I did a search on DrudgeReport.com and lo and behold it's true. Glad I checked up instead of just not beleiving. It's heartwarmig to see a good outcome.

gonesnakee · 03-02-04, 04:23 PM

"It's heartwarming to see a good outcome" ?????????????? SAY WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Read Gary's post above & rethink your statement. A very sad sorry indeed. That will be 1 F'd up little kid thats for sure. Mark

Cruciform · 03-02-04, 04:47 PM

Yeah, as far as the child is concerned they just took her mother away from her.
And who's to know how she's been treated all this time. She may have been taken for spite, and treated poorly.

Poor little thing.

Pixie · 03-02-04, 05:10 PM

That is just an incredible story! WOW

My heart aches for the little girl and the mother...

What I find absolutely amazing is that she recognized her daughter instantly after 6 years! Take any baby's picture and compare it to one of them at 6 years of age, most don't look anything like themselves. She mentionned a dimple but still, how many kids have dimples!!!

Amazing!

Pixie

beth wallbank · 03-02-04, 05:22 PM

As a Mom who would be devastated all to heck and sickened by the whole thought, this is a true example of fate. Whoa Sheila. That was deep. Thanks for sharing.

mykee · 03-03-04, 02:11 AM

My thoughts are, "What a bunch of head-up-the-a$$, stupid, incompitent Forensic Investigators". If there was a supposed death in a home due to a fire, there would have been some DNA or remains to prove there was a fatality. Glad to hear she's back in her mother's arms.

C.m.pyrrhus · 03-03-04, 10:07 PM

I agree with Mykee. These guys are trained to know what went on, we haer how "perfect" the investigators can nail down the reason, purpose and starting point of these actions. Still glad that the mother was able to know AND find her child. Good deal, just hope it all works out as best as it can.

ReneeB · 03-04-04, 09:15 AM

I'll agree that it's amazing the bio mother knew her daughter after 6 years, and that the daughter is going to have issues for the rest of her life.

BUT I can also see reasons why the "mom" would have taken the baby. Perhaps she couldn't have her own? perhaps she had been involved with dad before the bio mom and wanted her life, or perhaps she had lost her own kids for whatever reason.

I am NOT condoning her actions at all, just trying to show the other side. I'll admit that I've looked at babies aroudn the age Gabriel would be now and wonder why those mom got to have their kids and I didn't. Or I see other people that have kids that horribly abuse and neglect them and do NOT deserve to be a parent, and compare to myself. Why was I not allowed to have anymore kids?

Again I am happy for the bio mom for being able to find her daughter, I agree what the "mom" did was wrong, but until we find out the whole story, like WHY the "mom" felt she had to take the baby all those years ago, I can't condemn her.

mykee · 03-04-04, 09:42 PM

Renee, there IS no other side.

CONCEPT03 · 03-04-04, 09:57 PM

renee, i could not dissagree less with any of the vomit u just spit out, what that "mother" did was sickening, if someone ever did that to my kids i would be so ripped apart i would be the one getting charged...... i think u get the point. any way its great the bio mom found her kid but i fell bad for that little girl, i doubt she will ever recover fully from somthing like that, i dont think i could have. i wish them all the best