SEATTLE — It was the scariest 28 minutes any mother could possibly imagine -- a Seattle police spokesman said one woman stole another woman's 2 ½-year-old while they were all in the common room of the Mary's Place daytime resource center for homeless women near Ninth Avenue and Stewart Street.
"Apparently the mother took eyes off the child for just a second, turned around, and the child was gone," Seattle police Detective Jeff Kappel said. "The suspect had taken the child and left in an unknown direction."
Mary’s Place did not give KIRO7 a statement Wednesday night despite repeated inquiries. Fortunately, the child was unharmed.
The arrest and recovery were made just three blocks from the resource center. Police have not yet identified the suspect; however, the only woman in the King County Jail with a pending kidnapping charge goes by the name of Mi-Youn Kim.
"I don't understand what would compel someone to steal someone else's child," Christensen said. "A lot of thoughts go through your mind, like: Can she not have children? Is she barren? Maybe she did that just because she's a little off?"