Abducted Baby Found

A newborn abducted after her mother was attacked with a knife was found alive Tuesday in excellent condition, and a woman who had recently miscarried was arrested, officials said.

Dr. Peter McCarthy, an emergency room physician at St. John’s Hospital in Washington, Mo., said 11-day-old Abigale Lynn Woods had been reunited with her mother, father and other relatives.

“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.”

The child’s mother, Stephenie Ochsenbine, told police Friday a woman entered her rural home, attacked her with a knife and stole the baby. Ochsenbine, 21, suffered wounds to her throat and arms.

FBI Agent Roland Corvington identified the suspect as Shannon Beck, who lived a few miles from the home of the mother and baby.

The case broke when Beck’s sister-in-law, Dorothy Torrez, contacted authorities after she found a strawberry birthmark, like the one on the abducted Abigale, on a baby claimed by Beck.

“She’s the hero,” Franklin County Sheriff Gary F. Toelke said. “She’s the one that made it happen.”

On Sunday, Beck told Torrez she had given birth, Corvington said. Beck had been pregnant but apparently miscarried shortly before her own child was to be born.