Abducted Newborn Found; Taken by Woman Who Miscarried

Stephenie Ochsenbine was thrilled when she heard the news that her newborn baby had been located and was safe and sound. Ochsenbine, 21, was the victim of a brutal attack Friday when a woman she did not know came to her door asking to use the phone. When she let her in, the woman suddenly attacked her with a knife, slit her throat, and stole her baby.

Ochsenbine was treated at a local hospital and a massive search was begun to locate the kidnapped infant, who was only a week old at the time. Police blocked off Missouri Route 47, which runs right by Ochsenbine’s home, and search dogs scoured the area while divers searched two nearby ponds and helicopters circled the Franklin County area. Police received more than 500 leads, and late Tuesday one of those leads paid off.

On Monday, Dorothy Torrez went to visit her sister-in-law, Shannon Beck, who lives just a few miles from Ochsenbine’s home. FBI investigators say that Beck told her sister-in-law that she had given birth at home on Sunday, and when Torrez went to see her on Monday she convinced her to take the baby to see a doctor. On Tuesday the two women went to St. Louis for that doctor’s visit. It was during that trip that Torrez noticed makeup on the baby’s forehead.

Rubbing the makeup off, Torrez discovered a strawberry-red birthmark that matched the description of the missing baby, and she immediately confronted Beck, who handed over the baby. Torrez contacted police, and little Abby was handed over to authorities Tuesday evening.

"She’s the hero," said Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke of Torrez. "She’s the one that made it happen." Toelke said that charges will be filed against Beck on Wednesday morning, but he wasn’t sure what the charges would be. Health care officials said the baby had been well cared for since her abduction, and she was reunited with her mother Tuesday evening. "An outstanding ending, obviously," Toelke said. "You talk about a lead breaking the case, and this was it."