Hospital Child Abduction Triggers 'Code Pink' Emergency: Police

OAK LAWN, IL — A Chicago woman led police on a foot chase down 95th Street after she abducted her child who was in protective custody at a children's hospital prosecutors said. Sparkle McClain, 25, appeared before Cook County Judge Terry Gallagher on misdemeanor charges of reckless conduct, child endangerment and disorderly conduct.

Around 5 p.m. Feb. 19, police were dispatched to Advocate Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn for a report of a child abduction. When they arrived, officers learned that a woman, later identified as McClain, grabbed her young child who was being held in protective custody, the prosecutor said.

As McClain ran with her child through the hallway, she opened a fire exit door which set off an alarm, the prosecutor said. The hospital initiated a “code pink” for child abduction. The prosecutor said McClain ran away from police down 95th Street, darting into traffic and dangling her child over several fences.

Police found McClain hiding in the back yard of residence in the 4800 block of 95th Street where she was taken into custody, the prosecutor said.

McClain was released on a $10,000 I-bond. She’s due back in court March 17 in Bridgeview.