May 28, 2014
Ernesto McConnell
Reporter
Headlines
Facebook is for more than posting “selfies.” On Monday night, a baby, only 16 hours old, was abducted from a hospital in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada—the baby was rescued with the help of a Facebook post. Only hours after being born, baby Victoria was taken from the maternity ward by a woman posing as a nurse. The kidnapper was dressed in full hospital garb, and took the baby from the ward, to her car, and back to her apartment. An Amber alert was sent out by Quebec police officials that quickly went viral on multiple social media outlets; the posts described the woman and the car in which she was seen leaving the hospital. A group of friends, bored and searching through Facebook feeds, recognized the kidnapper as a former neighbor. The group sprung into action, traveling to the home of the kidnapper, where the car was found, and indications pointed to the perpetrator being home. The group called police, who arrived within minutes; the baby was recovered and has been returned to 21-year-old mother Melissa McMahon. The kidnapper has been taken into custody.