Woman jailed after running off with another woman’s toddler at MIA: cops
A woman was jailed Tuesday after she ran off with another woman’s young child at Miami International Airport, resulting in a fight over the child that included intervening bystanders, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said.
The bizarre incident happened around 4 a.m. as the mother was standing in line with her child at Security Checkpoint 5, the sheriff’s office said.
The child was crying and 23-year-old Alvina Omisiri Agba, fron Luton, England, offered to take the child to try calming him or her down. The sheriff’s office did not name the child or indicate the child’s sex.
The mother, Nadine Joseph, agreed, but as soon as she handed over the child to her, Agba walked away, according to the sheriff’s office arrest report.
Joseph tracked Agba down and demanded she hand over the child. Agba refused, insisting the child was hers, according to the report.
Agba then wrapped her arms and legs around the child so he or she couldn’t move, the report states. Joseph tried to grab her child, but Agba pushed her away. At one point, Joseph grabbed the child’s arms while Agba had a hold of his or her legs and the two were trying to wrestle each over the child, deputies said.
Witnesses intervene to protect child
Another woman, Natylet Montano, saw what was happening and grabbed the child to prevent him or her from being hurt, according to the report. Montano walked behind a check-in counter holding the child, the report states. Local 10 said Montano, whom the Herald could not reach, was an employee of GlobalX Air.
Agba crawled under the counter and demanded Montano hand over the child, deputies said. Three men intervened, preventing Agba from taking the child away from Montano. Agba ran away, but deputies caught up to her and arrested her.
After being read her rights, Agba first told deputies she was taking the child to a wall painted with a rainbow thinking that might calm the child down, according to the report. She then changed her story and said she took the child because God told her to, the report states.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Agba was being held at Turner Guilford Correctional Center on a total bond of $3,500 on charges of interfering with custody and battery. Information on her legal representation was not immediately available.
