Father Who Raised Kidnapped Florida Infant for 18 Years Speaks Out: ‘She’s Still My Child’
Kamiyah Mobley, the 18-year-old who was abducted as a newborn from a Florida hospital and raised by her kidnapper in a South Carolina home, may have reunited with her biological parents over the weekend — but the man who she called “dad” for her whole life says he’ll always be her father.
Mobley was only hours old on July 10, 1998 when authorities say her alleged abductor Gloria Williams posed as a health care worker and took her from a Jacksonville, Florida, hospital maternity ward. According to local reports, Mobley was briefly given to Williams because her family believed she was a nurse, while hospital staff believed Williams was a relative.
Williams was arrested Friday at her home in Walterboro, South Carolina where she and Manigo had raised Mobley — whom he says they had named Alexis Kelly.
“I named her — a a name I had for a year,” a tearful Manigo told ABC News.”She was the love of my life.”
He says his ex-girlfriend told him she gave birth to their daughter when he was away. The two continued to date until 2003, raising Mobley together and sharing custody after they split. He says he was there for her recent prom, among other milestones.
Williams, 51, is currently still in jail — charged with first-degree kidnapping and third-degree interference with custody. Mobley was not present at the time of her arrest but appeared in court in South Carolina on Friday afternoon, according to a First Coast News reporter, where she told told Williams she loved her and was praying for her.
“It’s a feeling that you can’t explain it, it’s hard to put it in words right now it’s hard to deal with this here right now,” he added. “We are just trying to process it, 18 years, it’s going to be hard to make that up.”
Source: People
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