A Santa Barbara Police Department spokesperson said the suspect, 33-year-old Leianna Patricia Arzate, entered the hospital’s third-floor maternity ward just before 12:45 p.m. Authorities said the woman was dressed in pink hospital scrubs.
Hospital spokesperson Janet O’Neill said she does not believe Arzate is a hospital employee.
She said the child, whose name is Julian, was in the mother’s room at the time of the abduction, but other details surrounding the kidnapping remained sketchy yesterday afternoon.
To her knowledge, O’Neill said no child has ever been kidnapped from the hospital in its 121-year history. According to the hospital’s Web site, 2,800 children are birthed there annually.
The hospital’s security system includes electronic monitoring bracelets worn by babies and their mothers. O’Neill, citing security concerns, didn’t elaborate on the facility’s security system, saying only that an alarm is tied to the bracelets, and when a child is moved from the third floor, it is tripped.
Police Sgt. Mitch Jan said hospital officials told police a “portable” baby alarm was activated, which indicated abduction had taken place.
“Within minutes, several officers responded to the hospital and set up a perimeter, along with Cottage Hospital staff, who had put the facility in lock-down,” he said.
According to O’Neill, the exact location of the lapse in the hospital’s security system hasn’t been identified.
“Something obviously went wrong,” she said. “We’re collaborating with the police department as they continue the investigation. We’re obviously taking this extremely serious.”
An Amber Alert warning was issued just after 1 p.m., and the hospital was taken off lock-down at 2:15 p.m.
Police officials said it remains unclear if Arzate knows the child’s parents, or any of the baby’s relatives. As of last night, officials had not determined if additional suspects exist.
O’Neill said the abduction appears to be “random.”
“It does seem to be a stranger who came in,” she said.
Jan said a hospital employee identified Arzate as the suspect. He said the investigation revealed that the woman left the area with the child in a blue, Chevrolet Impala.
Initial media reports said witnesses saw the suspect with the seven-pound, 20-inch child at Oak Park, though as of press time last night, this sighting couldn’t be confirmed.
Detectives traced Arzate to a residence in Santa Maria, where with the help of that city’s police force, the woman was taken into custody at 3:30 p.m.
A statement on the hospital’s Web site called the incident a “breach” of its security, and promised a thorough investigation.
The statement said hospital officials have been in contact with parents of newborns at the hospital and parents-to-be in an “effort to provide as much comfort and assurance as possible.”
“We’re all happy that it’s ended this way,” O’Neill said. “But still, it shouldn’t have happened and we want to make sure it never happens again.”