Imagine being eighteen years old and finding out your entire life—your name, your birthday, even the woman you call "Mom"—is a total lie. That is exactly what happened to Kamiyah Mobley. You might have seen the Lifetime movie Stolen by My Mother: The Kamiyah Mobley Story starring Niecy Nash. It’s heavy. It’s dramatic. But the real-life details of how a newborn was snatched from a Jacksonville hospital and raised for nearly two decades in plain sight are even more mind-bending than the film suggests.
The Day Kamiyah Mobley Disappeared
It was July 10, 1998. Shanara Mobley was only sixteen. She was sitting in her hospital room at University Medical Center in Jacksonville, Florida, having just given birth to her daughter eight hours earlier. A woman in a floral blue smock and green scrub pants walked in. She looked like a nurse. She acted like a nurse. She even spent hours talking with Shanara, helping her, and building trust.
Then, the woman said the baby had a fever and needed to be checked. She wrapped the infant in a blanket, walked out the door, and vanished.
The hospital went into a frantic lockdown. FBI agents scoured every floor. They searched luggage and trash cans. They even checked the parking garages. But Gloria Williams, the woman in the scrubs, was already gone. She had driven back to South Carolina with a baby she renamed Alexis Kelli Manigo.
Life as Alexis: The Secret That Held for 18 Years
For eighteen years, Kamiyah lived as Alexis in Walterboro, South Carolina. Honestly, it seemed like a normal life. Gloria Williams raised her alongside two older sons. She was a church-goer. She worked in healthcare. Neighbors saw a loving mother and a well-adjusted daughter.
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But there were cracks in the foundation.
The first real crack appeared when Kamiyah was about sixteen. She wanted to get a job at a local fast-food place. She needed her Social Security card and birth certificate. Every time she asked, Gloria made an excuse. Finally, after being pushed, Gloria broke down and confessed. She told the teenager, "I stole you."
Can you even imagine that conversation? Most people think Kamiyah would have run to the police immediately. She didn't. She stayed. She kept the secret for two more years because, to her, Gloria was the only mother she had ever known.
How the Stolen by My Mother: The Kamiyah Mobley Story Reached the FBI
The case didn't break because of a movie script. It broke because of two anonymous tips sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2016. One of those tips allegedly came from a friend Kamiyah had confided in.
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Police in Jacksonville reopened the cold case. They found "Alexis" in South Carolina. They compared a DNA swab from the teenager to the DNA taken from the newborn Kamiyah back in 1998. It was a perfect match.
On January 13, 2017, the world changed. Gloria Williams was arrested. Kamiyah was "found." But for Kamiyah, it didn't feel like being rescued. It felt like her world was being ripped apart. In videos of Gloria’s first court appearance, you can see Kamiyah through the mesh screen, crying and telling Gloria she loved her.
The Complicated Relationship with Shanara Mobley
This is where the story gets really painful. When Kamiyah reunited with her biological mother, Shanara, it wasn't the "happily ever after" you see in some documentaries. Shanara had spent eighteen years grieving. She used to cut a birthday cake for Kamiyah every single year, just hoping she was alive.
When they finally met, the trauma was too much. Kamiyah was still defending Gloria. Shanara was understandably furious and hurt. At one point, Shanara even told a judge she wished the death penalty was on the table for the woman who stole her child. Today, their relationship remains a work in progress, often strained by the fact that Kamiyah still calls Gloria "Mom."
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What Happened to Gloria Williams?
The legal system didn't go easy on Gloria. In 2018, she pleaded guilty to kidnapping and interference with custody. She testified that she was in an abusive relationship and had suffered a miscarriage about a week before the abduction. She claimed she was on "autopilot" when she took the baby.
The judge wasn't moved by the "autopilot" defense.
Gloria Williams was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Poetically, that’s exactly one year for every year she kept Kamiyah from her biological parents. She is currently serving her time at Hernando Correctional Institution and is scheduled for release in October 2032. Even from prison, she stays in contact with Kamiyah.
Actionable Insights for Understanding Missing Persons Cases
The Stolen by My Mother: The Kamiyah Mobley Story highlights some critical gaps in hospital security and the psychological complexity of "long-term" abductions.
- Hospital Safety Evolution: Since 1998, hospitals have implemented "Hugs" tags—electronic bracelets that trigger alarms if a baby is moved toward an exit.
- The Identity Crisis: Victims of long-term kidnapping often suffer from a form of Stockholm Syndrome or trauma-bonding. They don't view their kidnapper as a criminal, but as a parent.
- Social Security Discrepancies: If you or someone you know has a Social Security number that "doesn't work" for a first job or driver's license, it is often a red flag for identity theft or, in rare cases, a hidden past.
If you want to dive deeper into the legal side of this, look up the court transcripts from the Duval County Clerk of Courts. They offer a much grittier look at the evidence than the Lifetime dramatization ever could. You can also support the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which was the organization that ultimately processed the tips that brought Kamiyah home.