The abduction of Abigale Lynn Woods has some to a safe and happy conclusion. Abby was 
returned safe, unharmed and in excellent condition on Tuesday according to reports. The FBI have arrested a suspect in the brutal kidnapping. The suspects name is being reported as Shannon Beck, a woman who lived nearby the Ochsenbine residence and who was pregnant but who supposedly recently miscarried. The suspect amazingly fit the exact profile that the FBI had initially put forth.
FBI agent Roland Corvington identified the suspect as Shannon Beck, who had been pregnant recently but was believed to have had a miscarriage.
Abby was taken Friday when a home invader stabbed her mother.
Shannon Beck was passing the story that she had given birth; however, her sister-in-law became suspect of the story. The hero in this event is Shannon Beck’s sister in law, Dorothy Torrez, who confronted Beck when she noticed the strawberry birth mark on the baby’s forehead
Four days later, the case broke when Beck’s sister-in-law, Dorothy Torrez, contacted authorities.
Torrez became involved Sunday when Beck contacted her to say she had given birth, Corvington said. Torrez visited Beck on Monday and noticed what appeared to be makeup on the baby’s forehead, Corvington said. When she rubbed the forehead, a small birthmark became evident.
In publicizing the abduction, police had described Abby’s strawberry-red birthmark. Her suspicions aroused, Torrez confronted Beck, who gave her the baby, Corvington said. (Chicago Tribune)
Suspected Arrested supposed name is Shannon Beck
The woman, intially identified by police as Shannon Beck but who later claimed to have a different name, was arrested in connection with the disappearance of 11-day-old Abigale “Abby” Lynn Woods, who became known as “Baby Abby.” The woman’s age was not immediately known.
Beck miscarried a full-term fetus on Friday, the same day Abby was abducted and the baby’s mother, 21-year-old Stephanie Ochsenbine, was attacked with a knife, authorities said. Beck lived several miles away from Ochsenbine’s residence, said FBI Special Agent Roland Corvington. (Watch investigators discuss how the baby was found — 3:09) (CNN)
The suspects observant sister-in-law noticed the much publicized baby Abby’s birthmark and began to question where the suspect go the baby. Not taking no and the fabricated stories as the truth, Dorothy Torrez confronted her sister-in-law and she finally admitted what she had done.
Beck called her sister-in-law, Dorothy Torrez, on Sunday to say she had given birth, and Torrez visited Beck on Monday and Tuesday, Corvington said.
While accompanying Beck to a doctor’s appointment Tuesday, Torrez noticed makeup on the baby’s forehead, the special agent said. Police reports had indicated the baby had a birthmark on her forehead.
While Beck was inside the doctor’s office, Torrez rubbed Abigale’s forehead with her cap and the makeup came off, revealing a birthmark, Corvington said. Torrez called her own husband and Beck’s husband before confronting Beck, asking her if she had attacked the infant’s mother, the agent said.
Beck told Torrez she found the baby along a road, Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke said.
The district attorney is expected to announce charges against Beck Wednesday morning, Toelke said. (CNN)
September 20th, 2006 at 08:24am
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Breaking News from Fox, Abigale Lynn Woods found alive. It has been confirmed. The tragic case of the abduction is over with a happy ending.
UNION, Mo. — A family spokesperson says that little Abigale Woods has been found and is safe and well, FOX News has confirmed.
Abby Woods found alive
St. Louis (KMOX) — Eleven day old Abby Woods, the infant kidnapped from her home on Friday, has been found alive. Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke made the announcement this afternoon, with tears in his eyes. Family members quickly spread the news. Abby was found, not far from her home in Londell, Missouri. She has been taken to a hospital. Initial reports are that the baby is in good condition. Police earlier identified a suspect in the case. There is no information , at this time, concerning the suspect.
AMBER ALERT CANCELLED
Amber Alert cancelled, child safely recovered near Lonedell, MO, suspect in custody.
UPADATE: Baby Abby Woods Found Alive
“The family is elated and thankful to everyone in the community who prayed for them,” McCarthy said. “The baby was hydrated, nourished and in good condition when she arrived at the hospital.”
Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke told KSDK-TV in St. Louis on Tuesday evening that the baby was found alive in an abandoned house near Lonedell, not far from where the crime occurred. Toelke said a woman has been arrested. (11 Alive)
CNN: Suspect Gives herself up through intermediary
The child was reported to be in good condition at a hospital Tuesday. The baby’s relatives were told a female suspect was in custody, Petzold said.
The child was found within five miles of the family’s home, authorities said. She has been reunited with her family.
Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke said the suspect gave herself up through an intermediary. The woman matched a description given by the mother, he said.
September 19th, 2006 at 06:32pm
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Authorities investigating the disappearance of Abigale Lynn Woods have located a black scarf near the home where she was abducted. The 21 year old mother, Stephenie Ochsenbine, had told police early on that her attacker was wearing a scarf.
On the fifth day of the investigation, Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke was hoping the drawing, as well as a picture of a black scarf that was recovered near the home on Saturday, would generate new clues.
The drawing shows a woman with dark hair wearing a baseball cap, and Ochsenbine told authorities the woman also was wearing a scarf. Toelke said she is believed to be between 5-foot-4 and 5-foot-8 and is heavy, perhaps about 200 pounds.
He called the scarf a “pretty significant piece of evidence” that he would like the public to see. (FOX News)
The question has arose as to what type of individual would take a child in such a violent manner. The mother, Stephenie Ochsenbine, was stabbed several times including having her throat slashed. During the violent altercation to take baby Abigale, the other younger child was left behind unharmed. What motivates someone to perform this crime?
A composite sketch of the woman wanted in connection with the kidnapping of
Abigale “Abby” Lynn Woods.
The recent kidnapping of Abigale “Abby” Lynn Woods has dominated the local news and reached the national media because of the urgency to find the newborn. Statistics show there have been roughly 200 baby abductions in the U.S. in the last two decades.
Bausman said even with a small, statistical sample, there is a pattern in the cases.
“I would not be surprised if this woman was unable to have children but maybe is using a child to shore up a relationship or maybe she recently experienced a still birth or miscarriage and felt this incredible void and she saw a way to fill that.”
Bausman doubts birth announcements on yard signs instigated this or most other abductions.
“We don’t need to be reacting to this in a closed mouth fashion of don’t put yard signs up, don’t announce to the world I’ve had a baby because these people tend to do their homework before they commit such crimes,” said Bausman. (KSDK)
Experts: Baby abductors driven by need, mental trouble
What drives a stranger to snatch a mother’s newborn?
Experts theorize it could be desperation, mental illness or lack of conscience.
But a retired FBI special agent who led a study of 120 baby abductions in the U.S. over 10 years said most women who steal infants are driven by the belief a child will resolve a problem in their lives. And that problem primarily is a desperate need to preserve a relationship with a man.
“Typically, they come from a subculture where their worth is intrinsically tied to bearing children,” said Ken Lanning, who spent 20 years in the FBI’s Behavior Science Unit at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va.
They figure that once they come up with a child – and they devise elaborate plans to achieve that – “they’ll live happily ever after,” he said. (Belleville News Democrat)
September 19th, 2006 at 02:08pm
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The search continues for new born, Abigale Lynn Woods. Stephanie Ochsenbine, 21, was
released from St. John’s Mercy Medical Center on Sunday after receiving knife wounds from the attacker who abducted 10 day old Abigale Lynn Woods. Ochsenbine has been working with sketch artists to come up with a composite drawing of her attacker.
VIDEO
Authorities said they will rely on tips and interviews, hoping the break in the case will come from the public.
Ochsenbine helped police artists with a composite drawing of the kidnapper after leaving the hospital. The picture was expected to be released Monday, Toelke said.
The attacker was described as a white woman with black hair, 5-feet-8 and 200 pounds. Ochsenbine is not a suspect, Toelke said. (Houston Chronicle)
(CNN)
Also a knife was found during the search for Abigale Lynn Woods. There has been no comment as to whether it was the same knife used in the abduction.
100 members of the Missouri National Guard ended their grid search of the area near the home Sunday. Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke said authorities found a knife and other evidence near the home, but would not give details.
Description of the attacker.
The attacker was described as a white woman with black hair, 5-feet-8 and 200 pounds. She was believed to be armed.
White Female 30-40 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall, 200 lbs., dark hair, unknown eyes,.
Additional information: sunglasses and black scarf around neck and female mustache
Clothing description: dark or black hair pulled up under ball cap with worn bill gray or brown t-shirt and blue jean shorts
http://www.missouriamberalert.com/
Tips and Leads Continue to come in.
Investigators were hoping the break in the case will come from the public.
“We are still getting leads and still moving forward and still asking people to call in if they have any suspicions, give us a call so we can check it out,” Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke told Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen.
His office has a hotline for telephone-call tips, 1-888-265-8639, and tips also can be e-mail to stlouis@ic.fbi.gov. A Missouri Amber Alert has been posted. (CBS)
Sketch Released of Attack
UNION, Missouri (CNN) — Police released a composite sketch Monday of a suspect in the kidnapping of a newborn baby from her rural Missouri home.
The girl’s mother, 21-year-old Stephanie Ochsenbine, “was with the suspect for a substantial period of time, and was able to give us a good description,” Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke said.
The search continued for the baby allegedly taken from her home Friday by a woman who slashed the mother’s throat before taking the child, investigators said.
A statewide Amber Alert has been issued for 10-day-old Abigale Lynn Woods.
Police said they had received about 160 tips in the case and had followed up 60 percent of those. They said they were checking tapes from surveillance cameras at local businesses. (Watch grandparents plea for baby’s safe return — 3:14)
September 18th, 2006 at 11:01am
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An AMBER ALERT has been issued for 7 day old Abigale Lynn Woods. The suspect is a white female who entered the residence, held mother at gunpoint and cut her throat. The suspect then left with the child. The suspect is armed with unknown handgun and fillet knife.
Springfield, IL, September 15, 2006 –(PR.COM)– An unknown woman abducted a 7 day old baby Friday after slashing her mother’s throat, according to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. Authorities are searching for the baby Abby Woods, who was wearing a pink dress with flowers on the collar. The suspect entered the home near the town of Lonedell, about 45 miles south of St. Louis, on Friday afternoon and held the mother at gunpoint and slashed the mother’s throat and fled the home with her child.
The suspect is described as a white woman who is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 200 pounds. She was wearing a gray or brown T-shirt and ball cap with a torn bill. She has black hair. The suspect is believed to be armed with a knife and handgun. Police said anyone who sees the woman and child should call authorities immediately. (PR.com)
Picture of child, Abigale Lynn Woods.
If you have information contact: FRANKLIN COUNTY SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT Phone: 636 583 2567
- Name: Abigale Lynn Woods
- Age: 7 days
- Race: White
- Gender/Sex: Female
- Hair Color: Black
- Eye Color: Blue
- Height: 0’19″
- Weight: 6lbs
- Clothing: wearing pink dress with flowered collar Other: birth mark between eyes
Mo. Mom’s Throat Slashed, Newborn Taken
LONEDELL, Mo. (AP) — A woman slashed the throat of a new mother in a rural Missouri home Friday and fled with her 1-week-old daughter, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department said.
The 21-year-old mother, who was in serious condition in a St. Louis hospital, told police she did not know the attacker who had knocked on her door to use the telephone, Maj. Mike Copeland said.
Stephenie Ochsenbine’s 1-year-old son was also in the house at the time, but was unharmed. Her boyfriend, James Woods, was at work at the time, Copeland said.
He said the attacker stabbed Ochsenbine several times and slit her throat. Ochsenbine passed out. When she awoke, she discovered the baby missing and went to neighbor Pat Bearden’s home to call police. She may have been unconscious for some time, police said.
UPDATE: SUSPECT DESCRIPTION
Suspect is a white female in her late 30′s. She is approximately 5’8″ and 200 lbs, with dark or black hair pulled up under a ball cap with a worn grey bill. Suspect was last seen wearing a brown t-shirt with blue jean shorts, sunglasses, and a black scarf around her neck. She is described as having a female mustache. She is armed with an unknown handgun and a fillet knife.
(ABC News 49)
UPDATE II: Family Begs Attacker to Return Missouri Baby
UNION, Mo. (AP) — A grandmother of a newborn girl stolen from a rural home pleaded Saturday for the baby’s safe return, as authorities searched for an abductor who stabbed and seriously injured the infant’s mother before fleeing with the child.
“The family’s in agony,” Raylene Ochsenbine said at a news conference. “Just give her back.”
The family just pleads for the safe return of the baby.
We just want her to just take her to a church or a hospital,” Ochsenbine said. “Just give her back.”
Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke said authorities had some good leads in their search for the attacker and the baby but “nothing has headed us in a certain direction.”
September 15th, 2006 at 08:56pm
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