Woman Kidnapped Baby, Nabbed On I-77 In Mooresville: CMPD

CHARLOTTE, NC — Police have arrested a woman they say kidnapped a baby girl while it was being cared for by a family member and made her way to Mooresville before she was stopped by officers walking along Interstate 77 with the child in her arms, according to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police report.

According to police, family members were babysitting the child while the baby’s mother was running errands Aug. 27. During that time, however, the family members discovered the girl was missing and that Winifred Mirambeau, 23 and a girlfriend of one of the family members, had left the home in the 2300 block of Shamrock Drive with the child.

After leaving the house, according to police, Mirambeau flagged down a Jeep driven by a man. She got in with the baby, and at some point, instructed the man to stop so she could get into the driver’s seat. She then reportedly drove the Jeep to I-77, stopped the vehicle and got out while holding the child.

The man in the Jeep later told police this is when he called 911.

Iredell County Sheriff deputies arrived on the scene and Mirambeau was taken into custody. The baby was found unharmed and reunited with her mother.

Mirambeau was charged with first degree kidnapping and child abduction and is now in the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, CMPD said.

The man driving the Jeep, who has not been identified by police, was not involved in the kidnapping, detectives said.

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Photo courtesy of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office