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Kidnapping of Kamiyah Mobley

SOLVED1998University Medical Center, Jacksonville, Florida3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents crimes against children — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

Kamiyah Teresiah Tasha Mobley was born on July 10, 1998, to 16-year-old Shanara "Starr" Mobley at a Florida hospital. Eight hours after birth, she was abducted by a woman impersonating a nurse. The woman, dressed in a floral blue smock and green scrub pants and possibly wearing glasses and a wig, entered the hospital room, assisted and conversed with Shanara Mobley, and then left with the infant. Hospital employees initially believed the woman was a member of the Mobley family. Shanara Mobley later gave interviews pleading for her daughter's return.

Because no photographs existed of Kamiyah before the abduction, investigators created a computer-generated composite image for distribution to the media, and publicized distinctive physical features such as Mongolian spots and an umbilical hernia to aid identification. The case did not produce a break until 2017, when new tips led investigators to Walterboro, South Carolina. There, a young woman living under the name Alexis Manigo had grown suspicious of her upbringing in 2015 after her guardian, Gloria Williams, refused to provide her a social security card and birth certificate needed for a job application. A DNA sample taken from Mobley after her 1998 birth was matched to a swab taken from the South Carolina woman, confirming her identity. At the time of recovery, she had graduated from Colleton County High School and had been raised alongside Williams' two other children.

Gloria Williams, about 33 years old at the time of the abduction, was found to have forged documents to create a new identity for the child. Williams was reportedly in an abusive relationship and had miscarried a child a week before the abduction, which is believed to be a motive. She had a prior record involving check and welfare fraud. Williams was arrested in South Carolina and extradited to Florida, where she was charged with kidnapping and interfering with custody. In February 2018, she pleaded guilty to kidnapping and admitted she acted alone. On June 8, 2018, she was sentenced to 18 years in prison. In March 2022, a motion to reduce her sentence to nine years was denied, despite a handwritten letter of support from Mobley. Williams is incarcerated at Hernando Correctional Institution and is scheduled for release on July 23, 2032. Mobley has said she continues to communicate with Williams and refers to her as her mother.

Separately, Shanara Mobley settled a lawsuit against the former University Medical Center and was awarded $1.5 million. She has since had three other children. The case was adapted into a Lifetime television film, "Stolen by My Mother: The Kamiyah Mobley Story," which aired January 18, 2020.

Key facts

Victims
Kamiyah Mobley
Date
1998
Location
University Medical Center, Jacksonville, Florida
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1998-07-10

    Kamiyah Mobley is born and abducted eight hours later from a Florida hospital by a woman impersonating a nurse.

  2. 2015

    The abducted child, living under the name Alexis Manigo, becomes suspicious of her identity after being denied documents needed for a job application.

  3. 2017-01

    New tips lead investigators to Walterboro, South Carolina; DNA testing confirms the young woman's identity as Kamiyah Mobley.

  4. 2018-02

    Gloria Williams pleads guilty to kidnapping, admitting she acted alone.

  5. 2018-06-08

    Gloria Williams is sentenced to 18 years in prison for the kidnapping.

  6. 2020-01-18

    Lifetime airs the film "Stolen by My Mother: The Kamiyah Mobley Story."

  7. 2022-03

    A motion to reduce Williams' sentence to nine years is denied.

Best coverage

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People

  • Gloria Williams

    CONVICTED

    Pleaded guilty to kidnapping in February 2018; sentenced on June 8, 2018 to 18 years in prison.

    citation on file

  • Kamiyah Mobley

    VICTIM

    Abducted from a Florida hospital eight hours after birth in 1998; recovered alive in South Carolina in 2017 after being raised under a false identity.

    citation on file

Places

Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Kamiyah Mobley was abducted from a Florida hospital eight hours after her birth in July 1998 by a woman posing as a nurse. She was found alive nearly 19 years later in South Carolina, where she had been raised under a false identity; her abductor, Gloria Williams, later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Where did the kidnapping happen?
University Medical Center, Jacksonville, Florida.
Who was convicted?
Gloria Williams (Pleaded guilty to kidnapping in February 2018; sentenced on June 8, 2018 to 18 years in prison.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.

Sources

  1. Kidnapping of Kamiyah Mobleywikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — CNNnews · CNN · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — ABC Newsnews · ABC News · 2026-07-07