Woman Kidnaps 1-Year Old From Church

Woman pleads guilty to kidnapping 1-year-old from the Kentwood Community Church

By The Grand Rapids Press staff

January 25, 2010, 6:41PM

Tabitha ReidTabitha Reid, the 20-year-old former church nursery volunteer, pleaded guilty Monday to kidnapping a 1-year-old from the Kentwood Community Church on June 21.

Police say Reid took baby, Savannah Raby, from the Kentwood Community Church nursery on June 21. Reid was a longtime volunteer at the nursery.

Police said she took the child to a friend's home, where the little girl was found unharmed a short time later.

Reid remains in the Kent County Jail and will be sentenced March 3. The Kent County Prosecutor's Office will drop a 15-year felony charge of unlawful imprisonment, but kidnapping has a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Police say on the day she took the child, Reid visited two other churches with daycare areas, raising suspicions.

Weeks before the child was taken from the 60th Street SE church, Reid stole 20 baby outfits from a Meijer store and stashed another $200 in baby clothes in the store's back room, Wyoming Police reports show.

Reid pleaded guilty to a shoplifting charge.