TARZANA : Kidnaped Infant Returned to Mother

A woman posing as a nurse kidnaped a one-day-old baby from its mother in a Tarzana hospital Wednesday, but the infant was later recovered from the kidnaper, who said she wanted a baby because she is dying, Los Angeles Police said.

The suspect, a woman identified as Pamela Luna, 37, of Tarzana, was identified by police and hospital administrators as a former patient and employee of the hospital and daughter of a current hospital employee.

Officers Howard Mathews and Chuck Roberts obtained Luna’s address from her mother, a nurse at the medical center, Mastro said. There, officers found the missing baby asleep in a crib, Mastro said.

Luna was taken into custody on suspicion of kidnaping. Her two daughters from a previous marriage, ages 6 and 8, were placed in the custody of Luna’s mother, police said. The baby may be released from the medical center with her mother today, authorities said.