The kidnapping of Kamiyah Mobley is a story that has spanned years of investigation and complicated emotions.
Mobley was abducted as a newborn baby from his mother, 16-year-old Shanara Mobley.
The baby grew into a child, toddler, and teenager in the care of her abductor, Gloria Williams, without any unusual symptoms. More than 18 years passed before Mobley’s biological mother was reunited with her, a reunion fraught with mixed emotions and a strained relationship.
Gloria Williams disguised herself as a nurse and kidnapped Kamiyah Mobley shortly after she was born. (iStock)
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- What happened to Kamiyah Mobley?
- When was Kamiyah Mobley discovered?
- What movie tells the story of Kamiyah Mobley?
1. What happened to Kamiyah Mobley?
Mobley was abducted from University Medical Center (now UF Health Jacksonville) on July 10, 1998, when she was just eight hours old. Williams disguised herself as a hospital nurse and took the baby from her biological mother.
The newborn was taken from Florida to South Carolina where she spent her early childhood knowing nothing was wrong: she was raised under the name Alexis Manigo and did not expect anything unusual from the woman who claimed to be her mother.
Mobley wanted to apply for a job but didn’t have a Social Security number or birth certificate to provide to potential employers, at which point Williams told the 16-year-old Mobley that she had been abducted as a baby.
Kamiyah Mobley was abducted from Jacksonville, Florida and brought to Walterboro, South Carolina, where she grew up. (Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Even after learning the truth, Mobley kept the secret between herself and her abductor, because she was the only parent the girl had ever known.
2. When was Kamiyah Mobley discovered?
On January 13, 2017, Jacksonville police, acting on an anonymous tip, located Mobley, who was living with Williams in South Carolina.
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DNA testing confirmed that she was, in fact, the baby who went missing more than 18 years ago.
Williams was arrested upon Mobley’s discovery. She was soon reunited with her biological mother and father, Craig Aiken. In June 2018, after an emotional courtroom battle between the family, Williams was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
The years following Mobley’s discovery and Williams’ arrest were filled with complicated family dynamics.
While Mobley had the opportunity to get to know her biological family in Florida, she also has strong ties to the people she grew up with in South Carolina, where her relationships with Williams and other South Carolina residents strained her relationship with her biological mother.
In a 2017 interview with ABC News, Mobley expressed his affection for Williams.
“Because of that one mistake, I’ve been able to live the best life I could ever have. I have everything I need and everything I ever wanted, especially love,” Mobley said. “I understand what she did was wrong, but please don’t lock her up and throw away the key as if everything she did was horrible.”
In 2018, Mobley’s biological mother spoke to the Florida Times-Union about the difficult relationship between her and her daughter.
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“I’m still lost. I’m not doing well with my kids,” she said. “What have I gained? Nothing.”
3. What movie tells the story of Kamiyah Mobley?
There are multiple versions of Mobley’s story being told, one as a documentary-style program and another as a movie made for television.
In the 2020 documentary “The Kamiyah Mobley Story by Robin Roberts,” news anchors asked Mobley about her relationship with both families, and Mobley said she does her best to keep them apart as much as possible, but does spend time with both families.
She also revealed that she still goes by Alexis when she’s in South Carolina.
In 2020, a Lifetime film was released called “Stolen By My Mother: The Kamiyah Mobley Story.” (Eugene Gologulsky/Courtesy of Getty Images Lifetime)
“Most people in South Carolina would call me Alexis. Most people in Florida would call me Kamiyah, but I really just leave it to them,” Mobley told Roberts in the interview.
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moreover, A Lifetime film telling Mobley’s story, “Stolen by My Mother: The Kamiyah Mobley Story,” has been released.
The film stars Niecy Nash as Gloria Williams, Raven-Symone Ferrell as Kamiyah Mobley, and Tarhonda Jones as Shannara Mobley.
