Woman posing as Child Protective Services 'snatched' Canton baby
CANTON – A city woman is accused of posing as a social worker to kidnap a 3-week-old baby from the child's mother, authorities said.
The woman and a Conesville man accused of being an accomplice were charged Friday and the child has been recovered unharmed, city police said.
Police said they responded at 10:28 a.m. Friday to the 600 block of Alan Page Drive SE where a mother told them a woman wearing a name tag and claiming to work for Child Protective Services took her girl on Thursday.
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Stark County's Child Protective Services reported that the individual didn't work for its office.
How did they track down the kidnapped baby?
The Repository obtained the related 911 calls, which are a public record.
Canton police received a 911 call about 4 a.m. Friday from the child's parents, who said their baby had been taken by a woman claiming to be with Child Protective Services but they received no paperwork or information. The father said the woman forced her way inside about 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
"She literally just came in the house, snatched our daughter up," he told the dispatcher.
Canton Police Lt. Dennis Garren said the initial call was referred to Child Protective Services. A dispatcher told the parents a caseworker would call them.
The mother called 911 a few hours later and said CPS told her there were no records about her daughter.
"My daughter was stolen," she said.
The mother said the woman who came to the house knew information about the baby's health and, in the same 911 call, the father said she had "crude" paperwork.
“She tried to take all four of our kids, but our oldest two were in school and I would not allow her to take my other son," he said. "The only reason that she even got out of my house with my daughter was because she refused to put her down.”
Detectives obtained the suspect's license plate number using a plate reader camera and found that the suspect's vehicle was registered in Conesville in Coshocton County, police said. The Coshocton County Sheriff's Office was notified and spotted and stopped the vehicle, recovering the baby.
An Amber Alert was about to be issued when they located the baby, Garren said.
The baby appeared unharmed but was taken to the hospital to be checked out, he added.
A neighbor involved in some of the 911 calls said the family did not want to comment when contacted Saturday.
Who are the suspects in the Canton baby kidnapping?
Sapphire McDougleh, 33, of Coshocton, is charged with felony kidnapping. Brandon Savage, 20, of Coshocton, is charged with felony complicity to commit kidnapping. McDougleh originally told police that she lived in a Canton apartment. Multiple errors were corrected at 1 p.m. March 24. See the bottom of the story for more information.
Attempts to reach anyone Friday at McDougleh's apartment building were unsuccessful.
Both suspects are being held on $750,000 cash bond, police said.
Police provided no motive in a news release announcing the charges, but said the investigation is continuing. Any relationship between the suspects and the mother and child also was unclear.
Anyone with any information about the case is asked to contact Canton detectives at 330-489-3144 or the Canton office of the FBI at 330-456-6200. Anonymous tips can also be sent through Tip411 or the Stark County Crime Stoppers. Sign up for Tip411 at www.cantonohio.gov/police
Correction: Canton police initially provided incorrect information regarding McDougleh's age, Savage's age and the town where Savage lived. McDougleh's last name also was misspelled in the initial publication of the story.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton police: Woman accused of posing as CPS worker to kidnap baby
