Original subtitles

_ _ \

- My name is Joy White-- l'm here to see Ann Pettway.

- MALE GUARD: Does she know you're coming?

- No.

- GUARD: Park over there--l'll put you through security.

_ _ \

- [groaning in pain]

l was on my way to school and my water broke.

- We almost didn't make it.

- What's your name, honey?

- Joy. Joy White.

- And, Joy, how old are you? - She's 16.

- And this is your first pregnancy?

- Yes!

- Name? - Ann Pettway.

- You want to tell me what happened, Ann?

- l started having pains, so l came here.

- Is this your first pregnancy? - No!

- Is there anybody you want us to call?

- No. No! No! - A family member?

- [machines beeping]

- DOCTOR: Scalpel.

- NURSE: Push! - [groaning]

- Push, now--come on! - You're almost there!

- DOCTOR: Scissors...

Forceps...

and suction, please.

- Big push! - [roaring]

- [machine beeping]

- [baby crying]

- [machines beeping]

- l told you it was a girl. - But l was sure!

- Your mom owes me a chocolate cake now.

- [both laughing]

- l always wanted a baby girl. - Yeah?

- Don't nobody love a guy like his baby girl.

- Isn't she beautiful? [coos]

- She looks just like you.

- She's got your eyes. - [laughs]

- What are we gonna call her?

- l am not naming her after your mom.

- l guess Carl Jr# s out of the question.

- Who says? - [chuckles]

[chuckles] Carlina Renae White.

- Daddy's little girl.

We love you.

- No! l did everything right.

Everything right!

l didn't drink--l didn't smoke!

Why did this happen again? - DOCTOR: The blood work shows

some abnormalities with your hormone levels.

- What?! l don't even know what you sayin'!

- It is unlikely that you could sustain a full-term pregnancy.

- Mm. Mm-mm. Mm-mm. l don't even believe you.

Stop lying! Stop lying! - Nurse!

- Stop lying-- what you do with my baby?!

- DOCTOR: Nurse! You need to calm down.

- What'd you do with my baby-- l'll find her myself!

l'll find her myself! - Get some Ativan!

- l want to know where it is! - Hold her down!

- What did you do with my baby?!

- This is my grandbaby,

Carlina Renae White.

Oh, precious.

Why she's named after her father instead of me, l don't know,

but the Lord works in mysterious ways.

[chuckles]

Can we bow our heads?

Heavenly Father, we'd like to thank you

for bringing this healthy little girl into our family.

May she always know how it feels to be loved.

Amen. - Amen.

- Amen. - Amen!

- What's that Carlina-- l think she said, ''Let's eat!''

- [all chuckling]

- Let's eat.

- She's gorgeous.

Welcome home, sweetie pie.

- DOCTOR: How is she?

- NURSE: She hasn't eaten in days--she just lays there.

-We need the bed.

- Should we try the psych ward?

- Nah, there's no beds there, either.

- Miss Pettway...

Your vitals look good.

We can have you out of here this afternoon.

How's that sound?

- [machine beeping]

- Have you thought of other alternatives?

You can foster a child, you can adopt a baby...

My wife and l adopted just last year.

- [softly] Nobody's gonna give me no baby.

_ _ \

- [babies crying]

_ _ \

- [cooing to baby]

- [baby cries]

_ _ \

- # All night #

# All day #

# Angels watching over me, my Lord #

# All night #

# All day #

# Angels watching over me # #

- [phone ringing] [cash registers ringing]

- Are you ready?

- To try on shoes?

- No, you know--for the baby.

Because you look like you're about ready to drop.

You're carrying it high... like it's a girl.

ls this your first?

l had one last year.

You won't sleep, but you'll love it.

You'll see.

Now how do those feel?

Mft'ftm?

- l think they're kinda tight-- can l get a size up?

- l'll go check.

_ _ \

- Good morning, Doctor.

Her history?

The patient's had three miscarriages,

and according to her blood work,

it appears her body is too weak to have a child.

But, like l told her, there's a cure for everything

if you're willing to take matters in your own hands.

Yes, Doctor?

_ _ \

[voice breaking] l knew you'd have a solution.

_ _ \

- [baby crying]

- l just took it again--it's 104!

l'm leaving right now.

No, Carl--tell your boss you're leaving now.

Meet me at the hospital?

Okay, bye.

- [baby crying]

- # All night, all day #

# Angels watching over me, my Lord #

- [baby crying, coughing]

- # All night, all day #

# Angels watching over me, my Lord #

- Uh, the children's ward-- where is it?

- # All night, all day # - Thanks.

# Angels watching over me # #

[baby crying]

- l never should have took her to the park.

lt was too soon. - It's not your fault.

- No, no--maybe l'm not ready to take care of a child.

l'm just--[whimpers] l'm just too tired.

- You are a great mother.

- [sniffles and groans]

- It's gonna be fine, right?

Our baby is gonna be fine.

- Oh, girl, yeah!

l see this all the time.

Babies bounce back faster than us.

- See? - [laughs weakly]

- [baby gurgles]

- What's your baby's name?

- Carlina.

- Your name Carl, right? - Yeah.

- [all laughing] - That's cute--l like that.

- Okay, we're giving her antibiotics now,

and the fever should break by morning.

Did you want to stay the night with her?

- l may have to get back to work.

l'll make a call. - [whispering] Okay.

Okay.

- [sighs] You're gonna be okay.

- [baby fusses]

- WOMAN ON INTERCOM: ...on hold, line two--on hold, line two.

- Hey.

- Hey. - Hey.

- What's your name? - It's Joy.

- l just want to tell you l overheard you earlier,

and you're a good mother, Joy. - You think so?

- Yeah, girl, l can see it. - Thank you, Miss...

- You know what else l can see? - What's that?

- You tired! - [laughs] l am.

The baby keeps me up. - Oh, she keep you up, right?

- The baby keeps me up.

- Why don't you go home and rest for a few hours?

- l should stay here.

- Girl, don't be silly--for what?

All you're gonna be doin' is sittin' round here waitin'.

We got your number--if anything happen, we'll call you.

- l don't want to leave her here alone.

- Joy, the baby don't cry for you.

You cry for the baby.

l tell you what-- l tell you what.

l'll watch her myself.

- Okay.

Maybe a quick shower, just...

l'll just go home and pick up a few things.

- l got you, l got it-- l tell you, l got it.

- l gotta get back to work.

- Can you run me home on your way back?

- Let's go.

- l'll be back soon.

Please look out for my baby.

- l got you--l got you.

Go on... go. - Okay.

- WOMAN ON INTERCOM: ...to radiology, please.

...to radiology.

- # Watchin' over me #

# All day #

# All night # - [baby gurgling]

- # Angels watchin' over me # #

- [suspenseful music]

- [baby fussing] - Oh !

Oh no!

- # All day, all night #

_ Ange-- __ - [bell dings]

- GUARD: l haven't seen you around before.

- l just started. - That explains it.

The only way to survive the late shift

is by making sure you get plenty of sleep on your day off.

- l'll keep that in mind, thank you.

- [bell dings]

- Have a nice night.

- [horns beeping]

- MAN: Just keep the meter running--l'll be right back.

- [police siren wailing]

- [baby cooing]

- [sighs] It's okay!

lt's okay! - [baby fussing]

- It's okay. - [baby fussing and coughing]

- l got you-- l got you now.

l got you.

_ _ \

- [telephone rings]

- Hello?

Yes, this is Carlina White's mother.

No, l left her at the hospital.

Wh-What's wrong?

Missing?!

What do you mean she's missing?

- [shouting] What the hell happened?!

- [gasps]

- Detective Dalton, N.Y.P.D.

J Between 2:30 and 3:30 a.m.

medical personnel, or someone posing as medical personnel,

removed your daughter from the ward.

- Will she hurt my baby?

- l can't answer that, Miss White.

- Security cameras--there's gotta be something on those.

- DALTON: Unfortunately, cameras aren't working today.

- Fingerprints!

- We can only match them if the perpetrator

has committed a crime in New York.

We believe the kidnapper worked at the hospital

or pretended to work at the hospital,

so we're scouring files. - How long is that gonna take?

- l can't answer that, Miss White.

- Well, maybe you can answer this.

How are you gonna find my baby?

- Why don't you tell us what you know.

Did you speak to anyone privately?

- No. - Yes, that nurse, remember?

- Yeah, she told me, ''The baby don't cry for you.

''You cry for the baby.''

That lady was trying to get me to leave!

- Did you get her name? - She wasn't wearing a tag.

- Can you describe her? - She was black--

- Around my complexion-- - O-older--

- --heavy-set...

- Like she just had a baby...

- Or just lost one.

- [sobbing]

- [train clacking over tracks]

- We have reason to believe that this woman is involved

in the kidnapping of Carlina White.

The city of New York has posted a _1 O,OOO reward

for any tip leading to the baby's return.

This is the first time in the history of this city

that a child's been taken from the hospital.

- FEMALE REPORTER: Sir, another comment?

- [other reporters muttering]

- [sobbing] l want my baby back.

She didn't have to do that to me.

l was carrying her for nine months.

She didn't have to take her from me.

[sobbing]

- l think the lady's just scared

because she thinks we're gonna press charges,

but l just want to tell her,

''l won't press charges against you.

Just bring our daughter back.''

- [train whistle blows]

- WOMAN: Ohh, hiiii! - ANN: Hey!

l need a picture! Eh--stop--awww!

- [camera clicks]

- Hey! - [cooing] Hi!

[gasps]

- Okay, be careful now. - WOMAN: Okay.

- Be careful. - Okay.

- [baby coughs] - She been a little sick.

- [baby coughing] - l got you.

Hi! - That's my girl!

Hey, baby! - What's your name, baby?

- Say, ''My name's Nejdra Nance.''

''My name Nejdra Nance.'' - Where's your daddy, Nejdra?

- ''My daddy's out working today.''

- Dealing drugs ain't working.

- [baby fusses]

- You look like a Netty

l'm-a call you Netty

You hear that, Netty?

l'm your Auntie Cassandra. - l'm gonna get the bottle.

. Cftn you sfty, ''Cftssftndrft''?

- [horns beeping, traffic droning]

- [street din]

- Excuse me, miss, my daughter's been kidnapped.

lf you could give me a call if you see her--

Excuse me, sir, my daughter's been--

[sighs] Excuse me, sir--

- [child laughing]

- [children playing]

- CARL: Hey.

[sighs]

l spoke to my boss.

l'm gonna get that raise

so we can start looking for our own place.

- Don't bother.

They're never gonna find her. - Yes, they will.

- Carl, just stop.

- [hotly] Why are you so mad at me?

Joy, no one could have known this would happen.

lt was late, a shift change,

the cameras not working-- it was like a perfect storm!

- l keep thinking about that night--

that... nurse,

all those things she said to me.

She--l called a lawyer today.

Somebody's gotta pay for this.

Somebody's gotta pay.

- CASSANDRA: When's her birthday?

- July 31.

- Why did it take you three weeks to bring her around?

- They kept us in the hospital

for a little while. - And you didn't call nobody?

- l didn't want to bother folks.

- l ain't ''folks''-- l'm your sister.

- Okay. l started having contractions.

l didn't want to take no chances,

so l went straight to the hospital.

l didn't want no problems.

l got there.

They didn't think she was gonna make it.

But she did.

- [ominous music]

- You're my little miracle baby, Nejdra.

You're my little miracle baby.

- [door creaks]

- [sniffs and sighs]

_ _ \

- It's been nearly a year that 19-day-old Carlina White

was snatched from a Harlem hospital.

Parents have filed a _1 OO million lawsuit

against the city

that charges lax security and shoddy hiring practices.

- Carlina's life is priceless.

No settlement in the world could ever measure up

to having my daughter back.

- l can't believe the police haven't found my daughter yet.

ln the beginning, there were helicopters

and police officers everywhere,

but it all died down rather fast.

- Detective Dalton? - [phones ringing]

l need some good news. - We're working on it.

- [whispering] You said you'd find her.

- Look, there was a woman.

Someone saw her at the hospital, then on the train with a baby.

We're checking-- - If Carlina was a white girl,

you'd have found her by now. - You really believe that?

- At least she'd still be in the papers.

- What do you want me to say? - l want you to keep your word.

Find my daughter.

- [printer screeching, phones ringing]

- And that's _43.96.

- WOMAN ON INTERCOM: Cleanup in aisle 2.

Cleanup in aisle 2. - Here you go.

- Keith, l need an authorization.

Hold on a second, Mrs. Alexander.

- Is there a problem?

- Uh, no--there's just been an uptick in fraud.

We just need to verify this quickly.

- l got cash.

- Sure. Thank you.

- Okay.

- Hold on a second, Mrs. Alexander.

- [irritably] What? - Your change.

- WOMAN ON INTERCOM: Marcus, can you come to the deli?

Marcus to the deli.

- [door swishes]

- [baby crying]

- Auntie Cassandra's gonna get you some milk.

Ugh, we're out of milk.

- That's why l went to the store.

That's why l went to the store-- get my baby some milk!

Yes! Mwah! You miss me?

Yes, you did! - [baby gurgling]

- Oh, baby. - [carton hits trash]

- What you gonna do with that?

- l am gonna make Nejdra a new outfit.

A dress and a hat--you like it? - That's sweet.

l like that. - It's sweet, right?

- l like that--l like that one.

- Her daddy's taking us out for her first birthday,

and l want us to look extra nice.

- You need to cut him loose and get yourself a job.

- [baby cooing] - For your information,

Miss Holier-Than-Thou, l gots me a job.

- [scoffs] Well, let me show you

what we been doin' all day. - No!

- [Cassandra, in baby voice] l'll go with you, mama!

- [baby squealing]

- Come here, precious! - [both women squealing]

- CASSANDRA: Hi, mama!

- You did it! - CASSANDRA: That's right!

- We'd like to open up three accounts.

One in my name.

- One in mine.

- And one is a trust in the name of Carlina White.

- And she is?

- Our daughter.

- That's good planning-- where's the little one?

- Do you see her? - Uh, Carlina's not with us,

but we're hoping she will be soon.

- Well, our minimum deposit is _100 per account.

ls that okay?

That's almost half a million dollars.

What do you have to do to make that kind of money?

- It was a settlement, okay?

- Want to get a coffee or something?

- l'm gonna be late. - How about tonight?

- l can't. - You can't keep avoiding me.

- l've got to get to class.

- How's the studying going?

- Carl, l know you've been trying,

but every time l look at you, l see Carlina.

l see her face.

l see her eyes.

l don't want to be angry anymore.

- It's my fault, right?

We both left the hospital that night.

You think you're the only one that's angry.

There's not a day goes by

l don't think about what our lives could've been like

if this didn't happen.

- l'm sorry.

l just... can't.

l just can't.

- MAN: Hey, what's up, cutie?

- Don't you ever talk to strangers, you hear me?

What do you do if a stranger tries to give you candy?

- l scream ''No!'' and run. - Good. Good.

- Do l gotta go? - Yes, you gotta go.

- Can't you teach me?

- Mama can't teach you everything, baby.

Don't you want to grow up and be smart,

like the Huxtables on TV? - l don't wanna go to school!

- Look here-- don't test me today, okay?

Don't test me today-- do you hear me?

[slap] [loudly] Do you hear me?

- [sobbing] Yes.

- [kids laughing]

- Don't be upset, okay?

Mama just loves you so much

that she wants what's best for you.

- You mama's miracle baby, Nejdra.

Can l get a smile?

You can do better than that!

Come on, give me a smile! [laughs]

- [school bell rings] - Come on.

Mwah... Iet's go to school, big girl.

- [Dave Barnes singing ''Very Merry Christmas'']

# The blinds are pulled # - Hurry up, mama--it's time!

- What'd l tell you about bothering me this early?

- # With both of us, this house might bust #

. I'm comin'! . .t you ftnd me .t

# And all this family #

- l'm comin'.

- # We're gonna have a merry Christmas, babe #

# A very merry Christmas, baby # - Let's see what you got.

- # A merry Christmas, babe # - Are all these for me?

- # Very merry Christmas, baby #

- Yeah, you been a good girl this year,

so here--open this one first.

No, no, no--open this one.

Open this one first.

- [sweetly] Here! - Look, baby.

- # The old neighborhood always looked so good #

- And this one's for you.

- # We say hello to the friends we can and can't remember #

- l know you want to do hair when you grow up,

so l say you could practice on her.

- # Then the handbells ring # - Can l brush it now?

Can l, please? - Yeah, yeah.

Go get my brush. - # And then the children sing #

- l don't get no sugar--what?

Huh? [laughs]

- # the fireplace is on the embers #

- And Netty, hurry up,

'cause we're already late to your grandma's house.

- # You and me and all this family #

- Mm... all these presents?

You didn't have but two pennies to rub together last month.

- Ain't you gonna open it?

- Huh... well, whatever you're doin',

you better watch out before you end up

in a prison cell right next to Netty's daddy.

- Why don't you see what you got?

You're acting like a prison guard yourself.

- l'm just sayin'-- - l'm just sayin',

it's Christmas-- why don't you enjoy yourself?

- # The old neighborhood #

# always looked so good each December #

- Remember that day?

- # We say hello to the friends we can and can't remember #

- Thank you.

- Mama, where's your brush? - Um, it's in my top drawer.

And, Netty, get a move on, all right?

We ain't got all day.

- l can't find it.

- Well, it's in there, but you gotta go.

- Fine.

Bye, mama.

- [sarcastically] Bye... Netty.

- [phones ringing]

- [computer beeping]

- Excuse me, l'm looking for a Detective Dalton.

- Oh, he retired last week.

Can l help you?

- l'm Joy White.

My daughter Carlina White was kidnapped

16 years ago.

l'm here to look at the book.

- Yeah, he told me you were gonna come by.

Uh, let's see here.

Here.

Not a lot of new faces in the book

since last month, though.

Here, have a seat.

[police siren wailing]

- l'll never forget hers.

''The baby don't cry for you.

You cry for the baby.''

- [phones ringing]

_ _ \

- When were you gonna tell me?

- What?

- Ride or die, right?

- Besties.

- Ann ain't stupid.

And when she find out, she gonna be real mad.

- What if she kicks me out? - Come live with me.

- Will you tell her for me?

- Mmmm... we'll tell her together

when l get back from Atlanta.

- You know you're my girl, right?

- Mm-hmm.

- [hip-hop music] # Everybody move, man #

# Just groove, players gotta do your dance #

# Just breathe, ladies better choose a man #

# Let's go, let's go, let's go #

# Just clap # #

- l'm-a have to beat these boys off her with a stick.

- Least she got better taste than you do.

- Oh, no, you ain't gonna start. - Hey, hey...

- You ain't startin'! - 'Cause l'm scared of you.

l'm really scared of you. - Oh, you should be.

You should be.

Huh! Huh! Huh! Huh!

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

- [hip-hop music continues]

- Why don't you go say something to your guests, please?

- [rapping indistinctly]

- And stand still. - [music stops abruptly]

- Hi, y'all. - ALL: Hey.

- So glad you guys could all come to my ''Sweet 16.''

lt's really nice to have all my friends here today.

l don't know what l'd do without you guys.

All y'all are me.

Know what l'm sayin'? - ALL: [murmuring and chuckling]

- [music resumes]

[rapping indistinctly]

t

# Dudes can't pick that up #

# Slackin' in the game so l came here to pick that up #

# Just clap Everybody movin', man #

# Just groove players gotta do your dance # #

- What l tell you-- - [police siren chirps]

- --about getting all close up with these boys?

- We weren't doing nothing. - l know what l'm talking about.

- All right, people, party's over.

You all need to go home.

- We are home.

- Go inside.

- Why?

- Because we said so.

- Becau-- [scoffs]

Becau-- [scoffs]

Last time l checked,

it was legal to stand on the street.

- Come on, mama, let's go. - Get your hands off me, girl.

l ain't scared of these cops!

- [doors slam]

- Is there a problem? - No!

- Yes... you.

- Mama, he's serious. - So am l!

This is my house.

This is my street!

My street!

- What are you on, ma'am?

- What am l-- [scoffs]

l'm high on life.

All right--l'm high on life.

- [softly] Go inside... right now.

- Or what? - You need to stop and be quiet.

- Get your hands off me, girl!

Don't you touch.

Or what?

What you gonna do?

Huh?

You gonna beat me in the street?

You gonna beat me in the street like Rodney King?

[shrieks] What you gonna do?! - What's goin' on?

- They violatin' my human rights.

That's what's goin' on. - You're coming with me.

- l ain't goin'-- - Officer, wait! Wait!

Please, please, wait-- l'll take her back in the house.

- You don't have to beg for me, girl.

These cops ain't got nothin' on me!

Get off me--l can walk-- l can walk!

Get off me!

- JOY: Bless us, Lord,

make us thankful

through Christ our Lord.

And, Lord, as we celebrate Carlina's 16th birthday,

please keep her safe and happy.

And l humbly ask

you bring her back to me

when you see fit.

Amen.

- Are you gonna do this every year on her birthday?

l will...

until Carlina comes home or l die.

- That's not healthy.

- So you a psychologist now?

- We're just saying maybe it's time to let her go.

- If, God forbid,

something happened to you or your sister,

would you want me to let it go?

- [phone rings]

- [phone rings]

- Hi, Carl.

Thank you for the flowers.

- Thanks for the card.

- How are the kids?

- [laughing] My oldest boy just got his learner's permit

last month. - JOY: Now that can't be good.

- [laughing] You ain't lying.

- Really, Carl, how are you?

- [quietly] Well, you know, this is always

one of the hardest days of the year for me.

- Me, too.

- ANN: Hey, sis, so how was the interview?

- CASSANDRA: Well... [squealing] l got the job!

- ANN: [shrieking]

Yeah, Cassie-- Iook at you!

- CASSANDRA: Yeah, l'm gonna be moving down there.

Atlanta is real nice.

The streets are full of hard-working brothers

with suits... suits! - Mm-hmm!

- ANN: l don't care if they all Iook like Denzel,

it's too damn hot down there for me.

- CASSANDRA: So maybe Netty could come down there.

lt's a great place to start a family.

- What you talking about?

- l can get a job...

and, uh, a place for me and the baby.

- You pregnant? - Wait...

before you get mad, remember how you were at that age.

- No. No.

No grandbaby of mine is gonna be raised in no Atlanta.

We puttin' a child-pen right here.

- You're not mad? - No, girl, l'm happy!

l'm happy-- l'm gonna be a grandmama!

[laughing] Is it a girl?

ls it a girl--it's a girl?

Oh, my God, l want a girl-- l want a girl!

- Well, we gotta get prenatal vitamins

and a checkup. - We might need a bigger place.

- How are we gonna pay for all this?

- [scoffs] l can pay!

- The state will pay for some of it.

- No grandbaby of mine is gonna be raised by no welfare.

l can pay.

Credit card.

- We'll get her in the system just in case, okay?

- [footsteps descending stairs]

- Hey, did you find my birth certificate?

l need to go to the appointment soon.

- It's here somewhere.

l'll handle it when l get home from work.

- That's what you said Iast week.

- l'll handle it when l get home from work.

l promise.

- [door slams]

_ _ \

- [clattering]

- [sighs]

- [drawer clattering]

[drawer clattering]

- MAN: Next.

- Here are the forms and...

my birth certificate. - Okay.

- [paper shuffling, keyboard clicking]

- [phone ringing]

- We have no record of your birth.

- What?

No Nejdra Nance born July 31 , 19$7?

Bridgeport, Connecticut.

- We have no Nejdra Nance in the system.

- l didn't make it up-- can you check again?

- This document is a forgery. - No, it's not.

- Don't make me call the police.

- [ominous music]

- l'd like to thank the DJ for starting my set off

on a racist note. - [laughing]

- Everybody else came up to-- - [switches TV off]

- What did you do with my real birth certificate?

- Have you lost your mind-- l was watching that!

- The state of Connecticut has no record of my birth.

- Who told you that? - l went downtown

with the fake certificate l found in your closet.

- You went in my room? - To find my birth certificate.

- l done told you about goin' in my room!

- They almost called-- - l done told you!

- They almost called the cops on me!

What's goin' on?

Why don't l have a real birth certificate?

Why?!

- She left you and she never came back.

- What?

- She was a friend of your father's.

- What are you talkin' about? - Your mother.

She left you on my doorstep.

- [suspenseful music]

- You're not my real mother?

- She left you

because she knew l'd raise you right.

And l did.

l did raise you right, didn't l?

- What was her name? - Didn't l?

- [bitingly] What was my mother's name?

- You don't--you don't even need to know all that.

- Yes, l do.

- All that matters right now is you and me.

- You call me ''Little Ann...''

'cause l look just like you.

You pretended to be my real mother.

What--how could you lie like that?

To me?

- Netty...

Now you can't be mad at me for that now.

Come here-- come on, don't be like that.

Come here.

Now you can't be mad at me!

l took you out of a bad situation,

and l did my best for you.

l did my best for you-- that's all you need to know.

Look here.

Netty... l did my best.

What--Netty... Netty!

Netty!

- [door slams]

- CASSANDRA: You sure you don't want me to stay

till you have the baby? - Netty: We'll be fine.

- CASSANDRA: You could always come stay with me.

l mean it.

You and that baby are always welcome.

- Tell me the truth.

Did you know?

- She told me she gave birth to you, and l believed her.

- Why--Why did you believe her?

l didn't think she would lie about something like that.

Look, Netty, here's the truth.

l don't care who gave birth to you.

- But l do.

- You sure you want to know?

- 'Cause the truth don't always turn out the way you want.

- Cassie, if l don't know who l am,

how am l gonna tell my baby who she is?

- ANN: All right, l got the last two.

Here you go.

[sighs]

- [laughs]

- l'm gonna miss you, girl.

- Baby on the doorstep?

You gonna have to tell her more than that.

- Mind your business, Cassie.

- You be careful.

Call me!

- [flipping channels]

- FEMALE REPORTER : She was a tiny figure

they knew for a tiny time,

but 17 years after she was snatched away,

the ache remains. - JOY: l feel it in my spirit.

- REPORTER: --says Joy White,

the mother of the abducted child,

who works for a financial brokerage firm.

- JOY: l use that name as my e-mail address,

- Someone out there has her-- l could walk past her any day,

and she wouldn't know her own father.

- REPORTER: Back to you, Bill.

- [switches off TV]

_ _ \

- Netty: [reading] ''Dear Oprah...

''l'm writing to you because...

''l can't think of anyone else who can help me.

''l've recently found out the woman who raised me

''is not my mother.

''l had a healthy baby girl

''and moved to Atlanta to be near my aunt.

''My baby makes me happy,

''but inside, l feel lost.

''Can you help me find my parents?

''l need to know the truth in a life filled with lies.

''Sincerely...

Nejdra Nance.''

- Smile!

Perfect. - [shutter clicks]

- Have a great day, beautiful! - Bye!

- CASSANDRA: Bye!

- My name is... - Maya Nance.

l'm 6 years old. - And l live in...

- Atlanta, Georgia. - But l was born in...

- Bridgeport... [faltering] Con-nect-i-cut.

- [laughing] Very good-- that's hard to say.

Your teacher's gonna be very happy.

- Mama? - Mm-hmm?

- Were you born in Con-nect-i-cut, too?

- l don't know where l was born, baby,

but l'm gonna find out.

- Look at this. - You on that web site again?

- No, look at this-- she was born July 15, 19$7.

That's about right.

l was born July 31, 19$7.

You think it's me?

- Mm... that baby ain't you.

She got too much hair.

- She looks just like Maya did.

Look again, for real.

- She does look like you did at that age.

- ''Carlina Renae White was last seen

in the Harlem Hospital Children's Ward.''

- Hm-mmm... Ann's twisted,

but she wouldn't have done all that.

Call the number.

- [phone ringing]

- Center for Missing and Exploited Children...

This is Keith.

- l may have information on a missing child.

- Well, we're not sure she's missing.

- She's missing.

She thinks she was abducted from a hospital.

- Is the child in immediate danger?

- No, but we been trying to get information

for the last five years with no luck.

- Can you tell me something about her?

- Like what? - How old is she?

- 23. - And her race?

- l guess African-American-- could be Dominican.

- Probably African-American. [sniffs]

- Does she have any identifying characteristics--

any birthmarks? - No.

- Yes, she has a birthmark on her right arm.

- Right, a birthmark.

- Who is ''she''-- wh o's m issi n g ?

- Me.

l am.

- WOMAN: Keith, take a look at this.

Okay, we took the photograph that Nejdra Nance sent us

of her at 6 months,

and the one Joy White sent us of Baby Carlina at 9 days old.

- We did an aging progression sequence on both,

and l think we have a match.

- [notification blips]

- [keys clicking]

_ _ \

- [key clicks]

- [shrieks] Carlina's alive!

Oh, God--praise God!

My baby's alive-- it's Carlina!

[sobbing] My daughter-- she's alive.

_ _ \

- [street din]

- What's up?

- They think they found her.

- My God.

- She's living in Atlanta.

- How do they know it's her?

- We have to take DNA tests.

- We shouldn't get our hopes up.

- Look at this, Carl.

- She has my eyes.

- Oh, my God, Joy, l--

lt's her.

We found our baby girl!

[laughing]

- [sniffs]

_ _ \

- [keys clicking]

_ _ \

- [keys clicking]

- ''He secretly wept at night. - ''...at night.

- [in unison] ''He felt nobody wanted him.

- MAYA: ''Why am l d--

[in unison] ''different from my brothers?''

- [squealing] Oh, look at you readin'!

- [giggling] - Look at you!

- He's not ugly. - He ugly for a duckling.

- [both giggling]

- Grandma? - Yeah, baby?

- Why do you live so far away?

l want you to come live with us one day.

- Oh, that' sweet, baby-- maybe one day.

- MAYA: Mama, Grandma Ann might come live with us one day.

- Maya, will you leave me and Grandma

alone for a minute?

- All right, bye, Smarty-Pants. - Bye.

- We gonna read later, okay? - Okay.

- All right-- she readin' so good!

- l need to know about my parents.

- Netty, l didn't come down here to argue with you.

- Mama, no matter what you say,

as long as it's the truth, l won't get mad.

l promise.

- [sucks teeth]

You want to know the truth?

Hmm? - Yes.

- [slams book shut] Okay.

Your mama was a crack ho.

You was a crack baby-- she didn't want you,

so l took you in, and now you sittin' up here

treatin' me like l did something wrong.

Puttin' me on trial like l did something wrong...

when l did the right thing.

You know what l shoulda done?

l shoulda left your little crackhead behind

out on the street, just like your mama.

- Get out! - It's in the genes!

- Get out! - Get out?!

- Girl, who you think you're talkin' to?

- l'm talkin' to you-- l want you out of my house.

Take all your stuff and get out.

[voice breaking] All l wanted was--

All l wanted was the truth.

That's all.

- [shouting] l don't need this! [slams book]

- [jewelry rattling]

- [dialing phone]

- Hello. [Clears throat]

ls Joy White there?

- [engines rev, ambulance siren wails]

_ _ \

- [doors slamming]

- Thanks.

- [engine starts]

- [exhales and whimpers]

[sobbing] Baby.

- It's you.

- Here, let me get a hug.

_ _ \

- You must be Maya.

Ohh... [sniffs]

- [all gushing]

- JOY: Carlina, this is your Aunt Lisa.

She's been crying all day.

And this is your auntie and your uncle.

There's your cousin back there.

- [laughs nervously]

- This is your half-sister Tina.

And this is your half-brother Trey.

- How y'all doin', everybody?

This is my daughter, Maya.

- [sobbing] Praise be to God!

Welcome home, child!

l'm your Grandmother Elizabeth.

- Thank you, Grandmother.

- [all laughing and sobbing]

- Let us pray.

Heavenly Father,

You are a mystery we cannot comprehend.

None of us know why we are meant to suffer,

but we do believe in Your infinite wisdom.

There is always a reason and a purpose.

We hope that one day you will reveal it.

And we pray that one day

we will forgive those that took Carlina away.

- [ominous music]

- Most of all, we thank You

for returning our lost daughters to us.

Amen. - ALL: Amen.

- Netty: Amen.

_ _ \

- We didn't know what you'd like,

so we made you macaroni and cheese, and...

- [all laughing] - curry chicken

and lasagna and ox-tail soup.

- [all laughing]

- CARL: And that's just to start.

- [all laughing]

_ _ \

- [dishes clinking, hum of conversation]

- JOY: [sniffs]

You got your daddy's eyes.

- And l love music.

- That's because l used to sing to you when you were a baby.

- l'm a neat freak-- l clean all the time.

- l know where she got that from.

- l wish you would have gotten some of the same from me, too.

- [laughs]

- Was the woman who snatched you a neat freak?

- Not like me and Joy.

- Is it true that the news said you grew up on welfare?

- Tina! - And drugs...

They said the woman who raised you was on drugs.

- That's enough! - l just want to know

about her life. - It's okay.

The house l grew up in was nothin' like this.

And the woman that took me is nothin' like Joy.

But you can't believe everything you hear on the news.

- [dishes clatter]

- Where'd you learn how to do hair like this?

- When l was 6, this Christmas,

my mom got me a doll. - Your mom?

Styling's a good skill to have.

- l know.

l just started working at this hair salon part-time

l know l'll always be able to make money as a stylist.

People will spend their rent money on their hair.

But what are you thinking about college?

- l don't know yet.

- Carlina...

we may not have the past together,

but we will have a future.

- TINA: Are you mad at Ann Pettway?

- Netty: What do you think? - Was she mean?

- Was she scary-- what was she like?

- She had two sides.

One time she got so mad at me

that she hit me in the face with a shoe.

Then she felt so bad she figured out a way

to sneak me and all my friends into the movies.

- Wow... a shoe?

- What was it like for you, growing up here?

- Wasn't perfect.

Ma was always worried something would happen to me or Trey.

We didn't have much freedom.

You know, she cried a lot for you.

- l'm sorry.

- Yeah, well, she's happy now,

so even if the DNA doesn't match,

can you still come visit?

Just you being here gives her hope.

- [sighs]

- Hey, it's me.

- CASSANDRA: [on phone] What took you so long to call?

- We had a big family dinner.

- Is DNA back? - They're my parents--l know it.

Kinda feels like home. - [flatly] That's great.

- Why don't you sound happy for me?

- Netty, just don't forget who you are.

Okay?

- [phone clicks off]

_ _ \

- Hey! - You're late.

You were supposed to be here an hour ago.

- Sorry, l got held up at work.

[sighs]

- What?

Do l have somethin' on my face or somethin'?

- Nah.

You don't understand what me and your mother went through.

Just seeing you standing here...

[laughs]

So... if you could do anything today,

what would you do?

- l'd like to do a girl thing, like get my hair done,

but... - But what?

l'll take you.

- Might feel strange having a man come with me.

- Well, l ain't a man-- l'm your dad.

- Papers haven't come back yet. - You giving me attitude?

- [laughs] Sorry.

l've never had a father before.

_ _ \

- [both laughing]

- [suspenseful music]

- It's positive.

- [gasps] - It's positive?

- Thank you, God.

- Mmm! - Mmm!

- It's a miracle! - l knew it.

l knew it... from the first time l saw that picture.

- Oh, the phone's been ringin' off the hook.

The press is comin' by tomorrow to interview us here.

lt's official now, Maya.

You can call me ''Grandma.''

- Just like Grandma Ann?

- [sniffs]

- CARL: [chuckling]

Aw, come here!

- Mmm! - Mmm!

- We can come down to Atlanta next weekend

and help you and Maya move up here.

_ _ \

- FEMALE REPORTER: Carlina White, who was kidnapped

from Harlem Hospital over 22 years ago

solved her own kidnapping.

She will be reunited with her biological parents--

- [sirens wailing] - [suspenseful music]

- REPORTER: --today in what is sure to be an emotional reunion.

ln local news, police say a propane explosion

destroyed a suburban Charlotte house

that killed a toddler and injured 17 other people.

lnvestigators are on the scene now.

ln other news, Michelle Obama...

[suspenseful music continues]

- [knocks]

[continues knocking] - [police scanner chattering]

- [suspenseful music continues]

- WOMAN : l'm Special Agent Thompson.

Thank you for coming in. - DALTON: Happy to help out.

lt's the kind of case that haunts you even into retirement.

- Is there anything that didn't make it into this file?

- We interviewed just about anyone breathing

at Harlem Hospital that night-- a number of people

l.D# ed another woman besides Pettway as the perp.

We tracked her down to Baltimore,

but couldn't pin it on her. - THOMPSON: Your gut?

- It's the woman who raised her.

- l'm about to run into another conference--what's up?

- CASSANDRA: Have you heard from Ann?

- No, why? - The police

came looking for here-- they say she disappeared.

She's not answering her phone--l'm worried.

- Look the conference is about to start--l gotta go.

- [dial tone buzzing]

- [suspenseful music]

- [news droning in background]

- Fill it up, please. - Yeah, sure.

Nope. [smacks lips]

This one's declined.

- [flatly] Oh.

Try that one. - Okay.

- [card swishes, buttons clacking]

- [machine beeps] - Hunh-unh.

Sorry.

- Can l pay another way?

- Cash.

- l got a computer in the-- - [tires squeal]

- [voice falls] --car. - [police scanner chattering]

- Lady...

we don't take computers.

Mm-hmm?

- Yeah.

All right.

- [guffaws]

- [truck pulling away]

- MALE REPORTER: ...23 years ago,

White has reunited with her biological parents.

Pettway is believed to be in the tri state area.

- [suspenseful music continues]

- How do l feel? - [car horns beep]

- l feel complete.

- JOY: l've always dreamed about this.

Now after 23 years... [voice breaks]

l can sleep.

- MALE REPORTER: Do you have anything to say to Ann Pettway?

- l want her to suffer.

l want her to do time like l suffered

for 23 years.

- Carl, you said before you didn't want to press charges.

Do you still feel that way,

or have your feelings changed over the years?

- Well they have changed over the years,

but right about now, whatever the court decides,

that's all right with me.

l don't want to say too much about it,

because l got other things in my heart.

- Can l get a shot of the three of you, please?

- JOY: Sure.

- [shutters clicking] - Great.

How about a kiss on the cheek by both parents?

- [all laughing]

- [shutters continue clicking] - CAMERAMAN: Nice, thank you.

- CARL: All right, thanks. - WOMAN: Carlina,

do you have anything to say about Ann Pettway?

ls it true she was drug-addicted and abusive?

- [street din]

- When l look at Joy White,

l see me.

With Ann, my mother,

the other lady-- l don't know what to call her--

l would always be searching for things we had in common,

but we had nothing in common.

- All right, no more questions-- we gotta go.

Thanks--thank you-- eXCUSe Me.

Hey.

[exhales] Can you believe this?

- JOY: Oh, God is so good. - [cell phone ringing]

- Hello?

[louder] Hello?

- [clicks off cell phone]

- So what do you think, Carlina?

She wants to fly us to Chicago and everything.

- l don't feel like sittin' on Oprah's couch for an hour

talkin' about Ann.

- What's wrong?

- Cassandra's flippin' out, and Ann's missing.

- You don't have to worry about them anymore.

They're not your family, Carlina.

- [cell phone ringing]

- l know it's you-- say something!

- l know this looks bad. - You stole my life!

- Is that her--is that Ann?

- Just give her a minute-- it's okay.

- Look, just give me a minute, and l'm-a straighten this out.

l'm-a straighten it out, okay?

- Either you did it or you didn't.

You never take responsibility for anything!

- [dial tone drones] - Netty!

_ _ \

- [phone ringing]

- MAN: Federal Bureau of Investigation,

How can l help you?

- My name is Ann Pettway.

l'm here to straighten out this mess.

Where's your boss?

- [recorder chirps]

- [exhales]

Tell me what happened.

- There was this girl,

and she loved dolls--

- [dramatic music]

- --all kind of dolls,

but she got tired of these dolls because...

they couldn't walk.

They couldn't talk.

They couldn't love her back.

So she got pregnant...

three times.

And every time the baby died.

And that wasn't fair, was it?

[more quietly] Was it?

- No.

- It wasn't fair.

- [dramatic music continues]

- She just wanted somebody to love her back.

- Ann Pettway, you're under arrest

for the kidnapping of Carlina Renae White.

- [dramatic music continues]

- Will you tell my daughter now?

- Why don't we get a mani-pedi?

- [sighing] l think it's time to go home.

- Ok, let's go home.

- No, l mean back home to Atlanta.

- No, don't--you--

Am l being too pushy?

- No! No, it's not that.

l appreciate all of this, really l do.

- [street din]

- A reporter told me about the trust fund,

and l was hoping to take that money,

close out my life in Atlanta,

and--l don't know--

maybe get a place up here.

That way l'd be closer.

- Carlina...

- What?

- The trust fund dissolved when you were 21 .

- What happened to it?

- We needed that money.

- Were you ever gonna tell me?

- l'm sorry, Carlina.

l--

- REPORTER: Hey, Carlina, do you have a quote?

- REPORTERS: [overlapping] Carlina White! Carlina!

- REPORTER: Ann Pettway turned herself in--any thoughts?

- REPORTER: Do you have anything to say to Ann Pettway?

- Netty: No comment. - REPORTER: How was the reunion?

- REPORTER: We want to hear your side of the story!

- MAYA: Auntie!

- Hey, pretty girl!

Did you miss me? - Mm-hmm.

Could you come to New York with us next time?

- [inhaling] W-- - Netty: Maya,

go put your stuff in your room-- l'll be there in a minute.

- 'kay. - Netty: 'kay.

- So you heard the news?

- l saw it on TV.

- Her lawyers want to meet with you

so they can discuss strategy.

- l can't.

- You can and you will.

She's family.

Netty, you hear me?

You can't leave her hangin'. - Look,

l'm goin' by Carlina now. - You're Netty to me.

- But my name is Carlina. - Your name is Nejdra.

- Not according to my birth certificate.

_ _ \

- [footsteps departing]

- [prison door clangs] - [bangs on door]

- WOMAN GUARD: Rise and shine! - WOMAN: Stop bangin'!

- [banging on door] - Rise and shine!

- WOMAN: [muttering]

- GUARD: Pettway.

_ _ \

_ _ \

- [sighs]

_ _ \

- ANN: You gotta make her.

lf they convict me, it's 25 to life.

- She don't wanna testify, and she don't wanna see you.

- You gotta make her!

- l can't keep cleanin' up after you where Netty's concerned.

She's her own person. - Cassie...

- Ann, you took that child's life from her,

then you kept her in the dark about her family for years.

You had plenty of opportunity to make this right,

but you didn't.

- What am l supposed to do now?

[sighs]

- [gallery muttering]

- [dramatic music]

- [muttering continues]

- [dramatic music continues]

- That woman took everything from us.

- BAILIFF: All rise.

- How does the defendant plead?

- My client pleads ''not guilty,'' Your Honor.

- [quietly] Not guilty?! What?

- ANN: [reading] ''Dear Nejdra,

''l think of you every day.

''l miss you and Maya so much it makes me want to cry.

''l hope l see you soon.

Love, your mother.''

- JOY: Has she returned any of your calls?

- CARL: l've left five messages.

- Carl, we can't lose her this time--we can't.

- CARL: Now that's enough, all right, excuse me.

- REPORTER: What will you do in the future?

- REPORTER: Joy? Joy! Give us a statement, please.

- Hi, Carlina, it's your mom.

[gasps] l can't believe l can actually say that to you now.

Listen, l tried to call you the other day

and never heard back.

l tried texting you, never heard back.

Carlina, please call me and your father.

We need to hear from you.

- [phone clicks off]

- [cell phone jingles]

_ _ \

- [scoffs] Now l am happy

my daughter came back to me,

The problem we're having right now is just...

it's hard for her to cope with us.

She hasn't been with us for 23 years.

- Is there anything you'd like to say to Carlina?

l love you.

l want you to come back.

Give us a chance.

Let's make-- make up for lost time.

- JOY: l was on such a high when l was first reunited

with my daughter.

J You couldn't tell me nothin' you know?

l was floatin' on air.

That was a great moment.

And then one day after telling her story

to ''The New York Post,''

she changed.

ln just that day.

l think it had a lot to do with the Pettway family.

She asked a lot of questions about the money--

the trust fund

and the _10,OOO reward.

That money's gone.

lt really hurts because it's about money.

She won't return my calls.

- [cell phone dialing]

- l'd like to change my phone number.

- Where's Grandpa Carl?

- Netty: He's in New York.

- Where's Grandma Joy?

- She's in New York, too.

- Can we visit her soon?

- l don't know.

- Where's Grandma Ann?

- What's with all the questions?

- Where's Grandma Ann?

- [sighs] She went away.

- Is she mad at me?

- No, baby, she's not mad at you.

Sometimes people do bad things.

When they get caught, they have to go away.

- Did she say she was sorry?

When l do something bad,

l say sorry, and you give me a hug.

- [exhaling] Ms. Johnson,

What is your relationship to the defendant?

- Ann Pettway is my sister.

What you're saying she did was despicable,

but l love my sister.

She's not perfect.

She's deeply flawed.

But she loves Netty

Ann is a good mother.

- [breathing shakily]

- Ann Pettway knows she caused a lot of pain.

She'd had several miscarriages,

and she never believed she'd be able to be a parent.

So in my opinion, she did kidnap Carlina White,

and she as much as confessed to it in my office.

- [door clattering]

- [TV droning in background]

- Get up.

- [keys jangling]

- Get up now.

What happened to your phone?

- l disconnected it.

Needed to just drop out.

- Well, you need to drop back in.

- Why--so l can help Ann?

- Because you have a life to live.

- Whose life am l livin'?

Joy's?

Ann's? Yours?

lf l spend time with Joy, l'm betrayin' you.

lf l spend time with you and we talk about Ann,

l'm betrayin' Joy.

- Look, l know this has been hard on you.

l know l helped make it hard on you.

Look, you can call yourself Carlina or Nejdra.

l don't care.

lt doesn't matter to me what you call yourself.

Point is...

you gotta get up and get on with your life.

- l just keep wonderin' what my life woulda been...

had l grown up with my real parents.

- Okay.

But where do you go from here?

- [knocking on door]

- [gasps]

Mmm!

Thank you for comin'.

- About the money-- - Carlina...

[sighs] Nobody told us to set up that trust fund.

We had it for 21 years,

and if l had to do it all over again,

l never would have spent it.

- It's not about the money.

You could have told me.

But-- [sighs]

l'm just tired of people keepin' things from me.

- l'm sorry.

- Why didn't you look harder?

- Excuse me?

- Anyone who knows me knows how much l want to find my parents.

l searched and searched for you.

Why didn't you look harder?

- Carlina, you have no idea

how hard we looked.

l knocked on more doors--

l passed out more flyers,

than you could have ever imagined.

[voice breaking] We couldn't find you!

But... we never stopped looking.

- Sorry.

- [sniffs]

There's been so much pain.

[sighs]

l just want you to be happy, Carlina.

- But l'm just not ready.

l'm not ready to leave my whole life

and start over as Carlina White.

- [sighs]

You know, for the past 23 years,

l've talked to you in my head...

and in my dreams.

All this time, you been a part of my life.

And you've only just found out about me.

We'll take it slow.

_ _ \

- [dramatic music]

- [brakes squeal] - My name is Joy White,

and l'm here to see Ann Pettway.

- Does she know you're coming? - No.

- Park over there-- we'll put you through security.

- [engine revving]

- [buzzer honks]

- [door creaks, slams]

- [people talking far away]

- [person whistling a tune]

- l could just slap that smile off your face.

- Is that why you're here?

- l came here

because l have to find a way to forgive you.

Why did you do it to me?

- From over here, it don't look like nothin' been done to you.

What you so upset for?

You got her now.

- [angrily] l may have Carlina now,

but you stole 23 years of my life.

l wasn't there when Carlina took her first step.

l didn't get to see her go to the prom.

l wasn't there when she had my grandbaby.

Those are moments l'll never have.

- l lost three babies. - l lost a child!

l didn't go around stealin' nobody's babies!

- See, that's what l'm sayin'-- you lost one.

l lost three-- l heard you got two more now.

They told me l couldn't have none.

- That's no excuse! - l needed that child, okay?

- [buzzer honks, door slams]

- l saw y'all on TV,

and l thought about givin' her back.

But then Netty would look up at me.

People started sayin' we looked alike.

They even called her ''Little Ann.''

Every day, she became more and more mine.

- [shouts] She wasn't yours-- she was mine!

[pounds table] - l fed her!

l clothed her!

l taught her right from wrong!

That little girl who you paradin' around

on TV and everything--

[pounds table] l did that!

You should be thankin' me.

- l should be thankin' you? - Thank me!

- It's takin' all l got not to jump across this table

and kill you. - [sucks teeth]

[quietly] l know you hate me.

[inhales] And l know, somebody like you,

you'll never understand this.

Somebody like you, you know-- [sobbing]

--you got a lot of love in your life.

[continues sobbing] Me...

l been lovin' people and lovin' people

and doin' for people...

[continues sobbing]

lt's one thing to love somebody,

but it's another thing for somebody to love you back.

Netty loved me back.

- [sobbing]

l ain't ever felt that before.

[groans]

[sobs]

- You could have taken any other child in that nursery.

Why'd you take mine?

Was it 'cause l was young?

- It didn't' have nothin' to do with you, Ms. White.

- [shouts] It had everything to do with me!

lt had everything to do with me!

[sobs]

- [prison doors clanging]

_ _ \

- [plate rattles]

- ANN: On August 4, 19$7...

l went to Harlem Hospital.

l took a child.

l got back on the train,

l went back home,

And l raised her as my own.

l knew it was wrong.

- [sobbing]

- JUDGE: Ann Pettway.

You've pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping.

ln light of your confession,

the court hereby sentences you to 12 years in prison.

- [gallery whispering]

- [bangs gavel]

- [whispering continues]

_ _ \

- [street din]

- CARL: That's it?

That's what our suffering's worth?

l thought it was a mandatory life sentence.

- She plea bargained.

- l lost you, l lost my family--

l lost everything.

We gotta appeal this.

- We just gotta live with it.

All of it.

- HOST: l have a few questions for you, Carlina.

Or would you prefer l called you Nejdra?

Or Netty?

- l'm not Nejdra.

That's the name that was forced on me.

l'm not Carlina.

That's the name that was taken from me.

My name is Netty

That's the name that feels more like me...

...the name that feels most like home.

- Grandma!

- [laughs]

- [baby crying]

- FEMALE NARRATOR: It's a story of grief...

- Will you please bring my baby back, please?

- [sobbing]

- NARRATOR: ...and longing...

- Carlina would always be on my mind every day.

- NARRATOR: ...betrayal... - [police sirens wailing]

- Where did you get me from?

- JOY: She destroyed my life and my family.

- NARRATOR: ...and discovery.

- Now to an unbelievable reunion...

- ERNIE ALLEN: She made this happen herself.

She's the hero in this.

- l got my answers now to things that happened in my life.

- NARRATOR: But Carlina White's newfound family

faced some hard realities.

- Everything happened too fast,

and we're all strangers to each other.

- It's hard to build a relationship

with someone that you don't even know.

- ERNIE : These stories aren't always happy-ever-after.

They take time.

- NARRATOR: Now, for the first time on television,

Carlina, her birth parents,

and the family that raised her tell the true story

behind a reunion that captivated the world.

_ _ \

- NARRATOR: In January 201 1 ,

an assistant in a hair salon near Atlanta

discovered she was really Carlina White,

abducted as an infant from Harlem Hospital

23 years earlier.

But though she had found her true family,

in the months afterward,

she still had not made her way home.

- CARLINA: l still have that family

that don't really know me. - [shutter clicks]

- CARLINA: l was brought up differently,

, and l'm an adult as well so it's like,

it's gonna take a little bit more time.

- JOY: She have the family that she was brought up with,

and she don't know me,

she don't know, you know, her real mom.

- ERNIE: This is not easy.

You don't just wipe out 23 years of history and--

and have everything revert to where it was, uh,

on that day in 19$7.

- [police siren wailing] - [helicopter buzzing]

_ _ \

- She was a sweet baby

in the time that l had with her.

- NARRATOR: Joy White was 16 years old in 19$7,

when she found out she was pregnant

by her then-boyfriend, 22-year-old Carl Tyson.

- CARL: We started talking about it.

She said she wanted to keep the baby,

then that's when we really had to sit down

and talk to our parents.

- JOY: l had to explain to my mother,

you know, what was going on, and...

she was upset at first, but she was very supportive

throughout the whole thing.

- NARRATOR: It was a long pregnancy,

running two weeks past the due date.

By July 15th, Joy had had enough.

- l got tired of being pregnant, so, uh,

what l did was l walked

all the way from 125th Street and Broadway,

and l walked down to 34th Street,

and then after that, l went into labor,

[laughs] and l had her.

- [baby cries]

- NARRATOR: She named the baby Carlina Renae White.

The first name was for Carl,

the second was Joy's middle name.

- That was a wonderful feeling.

Here was a little girl l was going to raise,

that l was gonna be able to take to the park.

- NARRATOR: Joy brought the baby home

to her mother's apartment in Harlem.

- We all used to just stand and look at her.

You know how l'm talkin' about-- What a beautiful little girl.

- Very pretty, always smiling,

but she had some lungs on her.

She used to cry, cry, cry--

cry a whole lot. - [baby crying]

- NARRATOR: Joy was just learning

to take care of her baby

when Carlina spiked a high fever, 104 degrees.

On the evening of August 4th,

Joy and Carl rushed their 19-day-old baby

to the emergency room at Harlem Hospital,

where she had been born.

The doctors found that Carlina

had swallowed some fluid during the delivery,

and now she had an infection.

- [crying continues]

- JOY: l was upset because, you know,

that was my baby and she was sick.

And then when they told me that they have to keep her,

you know, l was really,

you know, upset. - [crying continues]

- NARRATOR: As Joy cried in the hallway

outside the pediatric ward,

a woman dressed in white comforted her.

- JOY: She came up to me-- she seen me crying,

and she came up to me and said,

''Don't cry-- here's a piece of tissue.

Don't worry--everything is gonna be okay.''

And, um, she kinda made me feel better, you know,

at that time, because l was, like, so upset

l didn't know what to do. - [baby cries]

- NARRATOR: Joy decided to head home to clean up

and get a little rest.

- JOY: l'm 16 years old-- l'm a young girl.

l didn't know any better at the time.

l think the hospital is safe. - [sirens wailing]

- NARRATOR: She fell asleep, but not for long.

- ELIZABETH WHITE: Someone knocked on the door,

and there was two detectives standing at the door.

l said, ''Carlina died?''

He said, ''No.''

He says, ''Somebody took her from the hospital.''

- [baby crying]

- ELIZABETH: So l called Joy, and l said, ''Joy!''

and she came running up here and l said,

''Somebody done took Carlina,'' and she couldn't believe me.

She was hollerin' out, ''Oh no, not my baby!''

- CARL: l get this phone call.

Get on the phone, Joy in the background crying,

''Carl, someone stole our baby!''

l said, ''What are you talking about?''

- [sirens wailing] - JOY: l ran to the hospital.

They had detectives all over the place.

They had helicopters.

They had sniffing dogs.

They had, uh, l mean, it was everybody out there.

Nobody couldn't tell me anything at the time.

We had a big conference in-- with the hospital

and everybody that's worked on that ward that night

sit at the table, and nobody knew anything.

- [baby crying]

- NARRATOR: As they talked about the night,

Joy remembered the woman in white who had comforted her.

- And l was like ''Oh my God!''

You know, ''lt was that lady!''

She saw me crying.

She knew my baby was in that treatment room

and she said, ''Stop crying.'' - [baby crying]

- NARRATOR: It turned out many people in the hospital

had seen the woman hanging around,

especially in the pediatric ward.

Parents thought she worked there.

Staff members thought she was a parent,

or a volunteer.

- l really thought she was a nurse.

So--l mean, she dressed just like a nurse.

But she had no name tag. - [crying continues]

- Obviously the woman

is some type of a hanger-on in the hospital.

- NARRATOR: That's typical behavior,

according to those who study infant abductors.

- ERNIE: They will go to hospitals

and birthing centers.

They will walk the halls.

They'll look at the nursery.

They will identify particular children

that might be of interest to them.

- [police siren wailing]

- NARRATOR: Police in Harlem Iaunched a frantic search,

combing the hospital and surrounding buildings.

They released pictures of baby Carlina,

hoping someone would recognize her.

- ERNIE: Time is the enemy

in the search for a missing child,

and that's particularly true with an infant or a newborn.

Because you want to respond,

generate visibility

before the abductor gets

to where the abductor's trying to get.

- NARRATOR: When the woman in white left Harlem Hospital,

there were security cameras in place,

but they weren't working.

That left very little information to go on.

- No one can actually document that woman

as the one leaving the hospital.

We have no one seeing a woman fitting that description

leaving the hospital with a child in tow.

- NARRATOR: Joy and Carl,

and other witnesses from the hospital

helped police develop a sketch of the woman in white.

Then they identified a mug shot

of a woman who looked like the sketch.

Detectives questioned her in the week after the abduction,

J but she had an alibi

and there were no other strong leads.

- We've received over 50 calls from the public,

and, uh, we are thoroughly investigating

all of the information that we have received.

- CARL: Sometimes they said, ''Oh, we have a lead,''

and then turn around and it's no lead.

And you'd be like, ''Oh, man, did they forget about us?

''Come on, man, this is our baby.''

You know, sometimes l wonder if l had a whole lot of money,

would they find my baby in a couple of days?

- [police sirens wailing]

- ERNIE: My sense is that N.Y.P.D. responded quickly,

took it seriously, attempted to use the media.

l think this was a failure on many levels,

not the least of which was that America's hospitals

hadn't really thought about, or paid attention

to these kinds of problems in the 19$Os.

- NARRATOR: The lack of attention allowed

several infant abductions in the late '$Os.

Though they were unrelated,

they all followed a similar pattern.

- ERNIE: Typically, the abductor

WftS SOMeOne-- almost always a woman--

who would walk into the hospital,

find a smock hanging up in a closet,

pick the baby up

out of a bassinet in the mother's room

or in the nursery,

walk off the floor, out of the hospital,

out of their lives.

_ _ \

- NARRATOR: In the days and weeks

that followed Carlina's abduction,

Joy did everything she could to keep attention on the case.

- l did any interview that l could possibly do,

you know, to talk about her.

[sobbing] l want my baby back.

She didn't have to do that to me.

[sniffling] l had her.

l was carrying her for nine months.

She didn't have to take her from me.

- NARRATOR: The loss was devastating.

- It was hard for me, because l couldn't sleep.

Every night l had to take, like,

sleeping pills every night, because l could not sleep.

- ERNIE: Police run out of leads,

media spotlight dims,

but these parents don't forget.

_ _ \

- This is a picture of me with, um,

Carlina's stroller.

Empty stroller.

l was always hoping that, you know,

one day she could come back,

and could sit back in that stroller again.

- NARRATOR: In August 19$7,

a young woman named Ann Pettway

got off the train in Bridgeport, Connecticut,

with a baby girl.

She was just 60 miles northeast of New York City,

where Carlina White had been abducted

from Harlem Hospital. - [baby cries]

- NARRATOR: Bridgeport was home for Ann,

but she hadn't been around in a few months.

When she left, her family believed she was pregnant,

and now she was ready to show off the baby.

- It wasn't a issue,

because she was pregnant, so it wasn't to say,

''Oh, where did you get a baby?''

You know, she was pregnant,

so you come home with your child.

- [baby crying]

- NARRATOR: Infant abductions are relatively rare.

There were fewer than 300 from 19$3 to 2010.

But experts have been able to develop

a profile of the perpetrators,

and it seems Ann Pettway fit that profile to a tee.

- ERNIE: Overwhelmingly, the abductor

is a woman--maybe a woman

who has miscarried, who has lost a baby.

These cases are more often driven

by a psychological need

to keep a particular man in a life,

keep a relationship alive,

than it is for the baby, per se.

So it is-- it's a very manipulative tool

uh, that these women use.

- NARRATOR: The man Ann was trying

to keep in her life at the time

was Derek Nance, a local drug dealer.

She would later tell the FBl

that she wanted to have his baby,

but had suffered several miscarriages.

She named the new baby Nejdra,

but the family always called her Netty.

The Pettway family was a large clan,

spread across Bridgeport's East Side.

- There are so many of us.

You can walk down the street and see 20 family members.

- CARLINA: l remember just growin' up

with a lot of cousins,

havin' a lot of family events together--

cookouts, parties--and it was just family-orientated.

- She didn't really need friends because we were there.

We were her friends and her family.

What's better to have than family?

- NARRATOR: In the Pettway family,

Netty became known as an entertainer.

- CASSANDRA JOHNSON : Every September,

they'll have a family reunion at the park,

and they'll have dance contests,

and she'll get involved in it.

- l was just into the entertainment--

just growin' up, believing one day

that l would have been a star.

- NARRATOR: But there was another side to her, as well.

- She always liked to be to herself sometimes.

- To this day she's still quiet and to herself.

- NARRATOR: That quiet girl found her own outlet.

At the age of ten, she began writing poems.

- l just like to write-- it expresses me.

- NARRATOR: When Netty wasn't with her cousins,

she was home with Ann Pettway.

For years it was just the two of them,

until Ann had a baby boy when Netty was 11.

- Ann is a very outspoken, Ioving person.

- She made sure Nejdra

had everything she wanted and everything she needed.

- NARRATOR: Ann was fairly strict

with her daughter though.

- She disciplined her when she needed disciplining.

- BRITTANY: It was, ''You have to go home, go to school

go to Brittany's house...''

But she still let us have our fun as children,

but she did have that strict side to her.

- NARRATOR: The young Netty didn't dare talk back.

- You didn't ask questions why you should do it.

lt was just, ''You do it because they told you.''

And that's how l grew up.

l mean, from my uncles, my aunts--everybody.

- NARRATOR: According to police reports,

Ann ran into some trouble over the years.

She was arrested in 1991 , '93, and '97

on charges of drug possession and larceny.

Netty had no idea at the time.

- CARLINA: l really wasn't exposed

to everything that she was going through...

until l got older.

- As a child growin' up, you're not into adult business,

so those things we wouldn't know.

- NARRATOR: Netty did shuttle back and forth

to Ann's mother's home,

although she was given a different reason

for the moves.

- l stayed with my grandmother when l attended school,

'cause l was going based on her address.

l went to school in a better district,

so l stayed with her.

- CASSANDRA: Other grandkids who needed somewhere to stay

or have some type of issues going on,

they'll come and stay with my mom,

and Netty was one of 'em that stayed.

And most of the time, the kids choose to stay with my mom.

- NARRATOR: Through her childhood,

no one in the immediate family

seems to have questioned Nejdra's parentage.

- There was no suspicion that Nejdra was not Ann's daughter.

- l knew she looked a little bit different,

but we all look a little bit different [laughs]

in the family.

- NARRATOR: And Netty had no reason to question it either.

- If anything, l probably thought my dad wasn't my dad.

l just figured, okay, maybe l look like my dad,

but l don't know who he is.

But, l thought that she was my mom,

for me growing up.

- NARRATOR: In fact, of course,

her real mother was 60 miles away in New York City,

still dreaming of her missing baby, Carlina.

- JOY: No other leads.

They just had crazy people call, saying that,

you know, they may have seen Carlina,

this or that, whatever, but it was nothing...

- NARRATOR: Joy and Carl split up

after Carlina was kidnapped,

but together, they sued Harlem Hospital for negligence

in allowing their baby to be taken.

- Anybody could come to a hospital,

you're supposed to have security around them.

And you're supposed to watch them.

That--that's your job.

- JOY: l think if they had more security at the time,

this probably would have never happened.

- NARRATOR: Eventually, in 1992,

they won a settlement of _750,OOO.

They put some of it aside for Carlina.

- We had that hope, our daughter was coming back.

So that's why me and Joy decided to start this trust fund.

- So, if she was to be found by 21 years old,

she would have it.

- NARRATOR: Meanwhile, all Carlina's parents

could do was wait.

- JOY: This is somethin' that you can't explain

when you have a missing child,

but it always stayed with me.

She was always on my mind.

l always wondered where she was at.

l would get on trains, and l would look at girls,

and l would just think that maybe that's her.

- NARRATOR: As decades passed,

the kidnapping of Carlina White,

stolen as an infant from Harlem Hospital,

became a cold case.

After all, how do you find a missing baby

after so many years?

- JOY: Later on in the years, things kind of,

you know, died down.

They just--think they lost hope.

l didn't, but l-- l think they lost hope.

- NARRATOR: As often happens with these cases,

it became the purview

of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The experts there know that infant abductors

usually take good care of their captives.

- We were convinced from day one

that Carlina White was out there somewhere,

no doubt with a different name,

no doubt with no recollection or any inkling

that she, in fact, was a missing child.

- NARRATOR: The way the center

keeps these cases in the public eye

is with age progressions,

using the last-known picture of the child,

and information about her family,

to guess what she might Iook like as she grows up.

- ERNIE: It doesn't do much good to circulate the photograph

of a 19-day-old child

if she's now 5 years old,

or 10 years old, or 23 years old.

- That was based on her sister, and l used that photograph

to create Carlina's age progression,

based on Mom's statement that her half-sister

looked just like Carlina when they were born.

So... can't argue with Mom on that.

- NARRATOR: Carlina's mother Joy made her own effort

to keep the story alive and public.

- ERNIE: What l remember the most about Joy White

was the fact that she never gave up.

And periodically, Joy would be in the media,

in New York, or elsewhere.

- JOY: Sometimes l--l go to sleep, l think about her.

Sometimes l wake up thinkin' about her.

l did a lot of interviews over the years

because l wanted to find my daughter.

l wanted her back, you know, with me, and um,

l really believed that she was out there somewhere,

and l wanted to get that message out

that her mother wanted her to come back home.

- NARRATOR: Joy never stopped believing

that Carlina was alive.

- JOY: l always knew that Carlina would probably

look for her birth certificate or something, or--

or try to find out who her real mom was.

- NARRATOR: And in 2005, that's exactly what happened.

The girl called Nejdra,

still living in Bridgeport Connecticut,

found out she was pregnant.

She had a serious boyfriend at the time

and was excited about having a baby.

The only problem was...

she didn't have health insurance.

She asked for help

from the woman she always called ''Mom''... Ann Pettway.

- CARLINA: l questioned her about, um,

my social security card, my birth certificate.

She just said she'd handle it, you know,

get everything right for me.

l don't have to worry about it.

But, l started gettin' impatient.

- NARRATOR: Nejdra snooped among Ann's papers

until she found one that looked like a birth certificate.

She brought it in to apply for insurance.

- CARLINA: They told me to take the paper

and leave out they office before l get arrested.

And, l just looked at the lady like,

''l'm just tryin' to get, you know, prenatal care.

''l need to go to the doctor 'cause l'm pregnant.''

And she was like, ''Well, this is fraud.''

- NARRATOR: The birth certificate was a fake.

The clerk called the woman who had made it, Ann Pettway.

Now Ann had to give Nejdra an explanation.

- CARLINA: When she got back home from work that night,

she came into my room.

l was hangin' up my clothes in my closet

and she sat on my bed and said, um, ''l'm sorry.''

And tears started fallin' outta her eyes,

and l was like, ''What are you sorry about?''

and she was like, ''l'm just--l'm sorry.

''Um, l wish l coulda told you,'' you know.

She was just like, ''Your mom just left you there.

She just left you there and she never came back.''

I'm like, ''Whftt?''

She just basically told me that she wasn't my mom--

that someone left me and she took me in

and basically took care of me.

- NARRATOR: The news that Nejdra was not Ann's child

surprised the whole family,

but the close-knit Pettway clan closed ranks.

- No one cared about it, truthfully.

To me, she-she-she was always my family,

and she will always be my family.

- NARRATOR: Meanwhile,

the Connecticut Department of Child and Families,

or D.C.F., opened a file on Nejdra's case,

But there wasn't a lot of information to go on,

and Ann wasn't much help.

- CARLINA: It's like, she don't remember anything.

She don't talk about it.

l asked her several times.

- NARRATOR: Ann claimed Nejdra had been born in New Haven,

but there was no record of the birth.

D.C.F. took DNA samples

and confirmed that Ann wasn't the mother,

but they said they couldn't help Nejdra find out who was.

- CARLINA: l was like, ''Can you take my blood at least

to match it up with someone that's out there?''

They was like, ''That's TV stuff.''

- D.C.F. found out-- they didn't do nothin'.

What would you do if they say that's not your mother

but they not finding your mother?

- CARLINA: It was like l'm startin' from scratch.

l don't know anything--l don't-- l don't have any names,

no area where they from, no background, no nothin'.

- NARRATOR: Nejdra, who had always kept to herself

--writing poems rather than sharing her feelings--

kept this news to herself as well.

- She dealt with it on her own, basically.

You would've never known that there was speculation

that she was her mother, that she wasn't her mother--

you never would've known any of that.

- l'm still healthy, l'm still alive,

and l just gotta move forward, And that's how l looked at it.

- NARRATOR: Besides, she had her own baby to look after now.

On May 6, 2005, Nejdra gave birth to a daughter.

She named her Samani.

- That was the best thing that happened to her.

She loves her.

To have a daughter that's just like you

is the one thing she could've ever asked for.

- NARRATOR: And eventually that daughter

and the revelations around her birth

would lead Nejdra to uncover the secrets of her own birth.

- l thank God that she had a daughter

so that she could find me.

- NARRATOR: In 2005,

the girl called Nejdra was 17 years old,

living in Bridgeport, Connecticut,

with her new daughter, Samani.

She'd found out

that the woman she had always called Mom, Ann Pettway,

in fact was not her mother.

Still, as she graduated from high school

and moved out on her own,

she kept up a relationship with Ann

and with the entire Pettway family.

ln 2009, she moved near Atlanta,

where more members of the Pettway family lived.

- l just wanted a new atmosphere for me and my daughter.

- NARRATOR: Nejdra found a job as an assistant in a hair salon,

and she worked to build a life for herself and her daughter.

- She's a very down-to-earth... strict mom.

- P-e-n-r...So--

- P-e... - Yeah.

lt's cut off so l read the r'est.

- She makes sure Samani does her homework.

She makes sure she's on point with everything she needs to do.

She's actually a great mother.

- NARRATOR: But being a mother

made Nejdra wonder about her own mother.

- Wait, don't tell me... um--

- Some days l wake up and look at my daughter

and wonder, ''Who do l look like?''

- NARRATOR: Every so often,

she would trawl the Internet Iooking for clues.

- CARLINA: Mainly around July,

the summertime, when my birthday come around--

'cause l already knew that my birthday

wasn't the date that l was born on.

- NARRATOR: Still intensely private,

she told no one what she was doing.

- That's something l guess that she harbored,

which l know ate her up inside.

- LAKEISHA JOHNSON: That was a journey that Nejdra

had to search and endure on her own.

- NARRATOR: But in the fall of 2010,

Nejdra asked her aunt Cassandra for help.

- CASSANDRA: She was like, ''You know,

''l still want to find my mom

''and see who my family is.''

And l said, ''lf you want me to help you, l'll help you.''

l think that was a chapter in her life

that she needed to complete

in order to move forward with her life.

- NARRATOR: Neither of them thought about

what finding out the truth would mean for Ann Pettway...

- [police siren wailing]

- NARRATOR: ...the woman who raised Nejdra.

The week before Christmas,

they began to search for answers.

Nejdra had always looked for stories

of missing children from Connecticut,

since Ann had told her she was born in New Haven.

This time, she decided to cast a wider net.

- CARLINA: l was just reading through articles

about African-Americans, Hispanics--

anything that was missing around the New England area,

and l came across that baby picture.

l thought it looked like it could be me.

And just how the dates were adding up--

it was a little close to my birthday,

so l got kinda stuck on the whole concept of it--

everything about the whole article and the picture.

- NARRATOR: The picture she found was of Carlina White,

stolen as a baby from Harlem Hospital

in August 19$7.

- CARLINA: And l'm like, ''Auntie,

Don't you think this look like me?''

- CASSANDRA: It look like her,

but the only thing that was in question for me was the hair.

lt seemed like too much hair.

- [keys typing]

- NARRATOR: The picture was on the web site

of the National Center for Missing and Exploited children,

which had followed Carlina's case for years.

Nejdra called the center's hotline

and spoke to Jordan Wood.

- She had strong suspicions.

- l'm explaining to her my whole story.

- JORDAN: There were problems with her birth certificate

and her other documents, so that was her main concern

and her main reason for feeling

that she was possibly abducted as an infant.

She just said, ''l feel that my parents

''are still out there Iooking for me,

''not knowing that l'm going by another name

and another social security number.''

- NARRATOR: Nejdra did not tell Jordan

that she had seen the picture of Carlina White.

- l don't know exactly if that was me in that picture.

l just called to see

if someone could match it up and just let me know.

- JORDAN: l could definitely hear

a lot of frustration in her voice.

She had gone to other agencies before she came to us,

and she hadn't gotten anywhere,

um, so, you know, out of frustration,

she said, ''l--l don't know who l am.''

- NARRATOR: Jordan took Nejdra's information

and a complete physical description

and passed it to the center's analysts.

- ERNIE: We knew, based upon Netty's age,

that we could rule out cases prior to 19$7.

But then we began to look at a wide range of cases

subsequent to 19$7.

The child could've been taken when she was

1 or 2 or even 3 years old

and not have any memory of her-- of her birth parents.

- NARRATOR: Finally, the analysts came up

with what they believed was the best match--

Carlina White.

On January 4, 2011,

a caseworker called Joy White, Carlina's mother.

- JOY: l was at work when he called me,

and l was like, ''You found my daughter?''

So l left my desk, and l went downstairs

and l just started crying,

and l started screaming.

- NARRATOR: The caseworker sent pictures

of the girl they'd identified as Carlina

to Joy and Carlina's father, Carl.

- And when he emailed me those pictures,

l sat there and l cried.

- CARL: She looked just like Joy used to look like in the day.

Then l called Joy up-- l said, ''Joy.''

she said, ''Yeah''-- l said, ''Joy,

she look like she could be our daughter.''

- NARRATOR: And then Joy got another call.

- And she said, ''Hi, Mom,'' and that touched me.

- CARLINA: She had me on speaker--we talked.

My aunts was in the background yellin',

saying ''come home''-- they knew it was me.

- Nobody couldn't believe it.

We were all in here going crazy--so happy.

- NARRATOR: Joy notified

the New York City police department.

- JOY: l said, ''Hello, my name is Joy White,

''and l'm the mother of Carlina White

''that was missin' in 19$7,

and she have been found.''

- NARRATOR: In January 201 1 ,

more than 23 years after a baby named Carlina White

was stolen from Harlem Hospital,

she was reunited with her birth parents, Joy and Carl.

- Okay, big smile. - [camera shutter clicks]

- l was nervous-- l was definitely nervous.

You want some bread for that pasta?

- JOY: She flew up here from Atlanta,

her and my granddaughter, and l made sure that, uh,

all the family was here.

They--all the-- all my family came over,

and we cooked, and we just enjoyed each other.

- Look, we go, um, forehead and everything over here.

- Carlina, she was a sweet, adorable, beautiful girl,

And right away l seen Carl, her father's, eyes.

''Oh God,'' l said, ''you got your father's eyes.''

- So l hugged her, and l'm like, ''Oh my God.''

She saw tears comin' from my eyes.

l said, ''l can't believe this.''

Joy comin' downstairs, and Joy said, ''That's our baby.''

And l say, ''Yeah, that's our baby.''

- NARRATOR: At the time, the reunion

was everything they had hoped for.

- When she was here, it was like, uh,

nothin' never happened, like she was never lost.

- l didn't feel anything else but happiness.

- She would say to me, like,

''Why're you staring at me like that?''

l don't think that she understood

how much l missed her,

and l couldn't believe that she was in front of me,

and it was just, oh God--

it was just so unbelievable.

The whole thing is unbelievable.

- NARRATOR: But after the reunion...

- [camera shutter clicks]

- NARRATOR: ...problems quickly developed.

The story of the young woman who discovered her true identity

became big news.

- Now to an unbelievable reunion...

23-year-old Carlina White of Georgia

had long suspected she wasn't related

to the people who raised her.

- NARRATOR: By the time she was headed home to Atlanta,

where she lived, the media had descended.

- l think she was a little overwhelmed,

and l think she was a little spooked

by the attention.

- NARRATOR: The media attention had another consequence.

The Pettway family, who she'd grown up with as Nejdra,

now heard the whole story.

- BRITTANY PETTWAY: l found out about it on the news.

My emotions were so mixed up.

l was sad.

l was happy that she got the answers that she wanted.

l was--it was just a bunch of--

a ball of emotions all in me.

- Everybody was really happy for her,

and they told her, ''You found your family,

but we'll still be your family also.''

- Once l did reach out,

they said that nothing really changed for them.

They still loved me the same way.

l'm still their cousin.

- NARRATOR: But there was still a big question:

What would happen to Ann Pettway,

whom authorities believed was the one

who took baby Carlina from Harlem Hospital?

When police went looking for her in North Carolina,

where she'd moved, she was gone.

Her sister says she wanted to bring her 13-year-old son

to be with her family in Bridgeport Connecticut.

- CASSANDRA: They make it out to be like she was

some crazed animal or something like that,

and--and it wasn't like that.

She knew she had to go and take care of her responsibilities,

and that's what she went to go do.

- [police siren wailing]

- NARRATOR: On January 23, 201 1 ,

Ann turned herself in to authorities in Bridgeport.

She gave a statement saying she had caused a lot of pain,

but she pled ''not guilty''

to the kidnapping charge brought against her.

- She's upset.

Um, she's concerned about the impact this has

on all the members of her family.

- NARRATOR: For every court hearing,

members of the Pettway family and Carlina White's family

were on hand.

- JOY: She act like nothin' never happened,

like she didn't do anything, and, um,

she have no remorse whatsoever.

My stomach feels sick when l see her.

- NARRATOR: But for Carlina, who was raised by Ann,

the subject was more complicated.

- l would just like to know what's the reason behind it.

l want to know her side of the story,

because l don't know her side.

- NARRATOR: Watching the woman who raised her face jail time

was difficult, especially because she was

the one who set it in motion.

- CARLINA: l didn't acknowledge that she was gonna go to jail,

and get tooken away, you know, from my brother,

and they're separated,

and now he has to come up without his mom.

l'm-a speak from my heart.

lf l was able to give her another chance, l would.

Her serving time is...

not gonna do much.

- NARRATOR: The disagreement

over what should happen to Ann Pettway

caused a serious rift.

- JOY: l think that they should lock her up,

and, um, throw away the key.

l think that she needs to do life, uh,

for what she did to me.

- CARLINA: The anger that they givin' off

is only satisfyin' them.

lt's like, you doin' that,

not carin' about how l'm feelin'.

- NARRATOR: And other disagreements developed.

At the reunion, a story came out

that Ann had mistreated Carlina as she was growing up.

- JOY: She told me that she used to beat her with a shoe

and leave a shoe print on her face.

And, um, when she told me that, l cried.

For someone else to take my daughter

and to treat her that way, you know,

that was very hurtful.

- NARRATOR: The story caused a crisis in the Pettway family.

- LAKEISHA: Me and Nejdra sat and cried,

and it hurt us so bad, because it wasn't that bad.

- She was loved-- she was not mistreated.

There was no abuse.

- l don't look at it as me being abused.

lt's just, l guess, the words that they put out there,

They take, you know, what you say, mix it up

and make it sound as how they want it to be.

- NARRATOR: And then there was the question of money.

ln a family where no one had much,

it became a contentious issue.

The settlement that Joy and Carl received from Harlem Hospital

had long since been spent.

- JOY: Things were, uh, rocky,

with, you know, far as, uh,

the financial situation.

Um, l have kids.

Carl have kids, and, um,

we used the money to live.

That was a choice that we had to make at the time.

- NARRATOR: Carlina insisted it didn't matter.

- l could care less about that money,

'cause l didn't have it from the beginning.

l was searchin' just to find who l was.

- NARRATOR: The situation, so promising in January 201 1 ,

fell apart quickly.

- She went back home,

so we haven't seen her since.

- NARRATOR: As winter turned to spring,

there was no second reunion.

ln fact, there was very little communication.

- Wow, it's like l found her and, um,

but she's still lost.

- ELIZABETH: It's eatin' Joy up inside

to know that her daughter is alive,

and her daughter's not with her.

Her daughter's turnin' back to the people that's kidnapped her.

- When people all of a sudden are found,

then there's this great, uh, brouhaha,

and excitement and celebration,

there's sort of like a halo effect that takes place,

and you believe everything's gonna be great from now on,

but these are very difficult, complicated issues.

They're not easily resolved.

- NARRATOR: Dr. Geoffrey Greif has interviewed

many people who were abducted as children,

and followed them as they became adults.

He says the division

between Carlina and her birth parents is typical.

- DR. GREIF: There were a lot of people l've interviewed

who did not know that they'd even been kidnapped.

That would cause you to question

the previous 1 5 or 20 years of your life,

because you don't know what to believe anymore

when something that significant has been told to you

that's not true.

- NARRATOR: For the birth parents,

there is a different set of issues to reconcile.

- DR. GREIF: All of the sudden,

they've received the child back in their life,

and they are apt to treat the child

as if the child was still very young.

They have to step back a long ways

and try and realize who this person is now

and try and construct a meaningful relationship

based on who the person is now,

not who they wish the person could've been

had they raised her.

- NARRATOR: Joy White said that was

just what she wanted to do.

- JOY: l was havin' trouble when it first happened,

but l had to sit down and l had to analyze everything

and now l feel really bad.

l feel sorry for her.

l feel bad for her,

because l know that she's going through something emotion,

because l am too.

l'm her mother, and l'm going through somethin' right now.

- NARRATOR: But building a relationship would mean

accepting that her daughter was still loyal

to the Pettway family.

- CARLINA: l'm-a have a relationship with that family,

and if y'all want a relationship with me

y'all have to be able to accept

that l'm still going to be affiliated with that family.

l look at it as l should be free to be able--

to speak to who l want to speak to,

to consider who l want to be my aunt,

want to be my uncle, my cousins and my friends.

- NARRATOR: Even her name was an issue.

Legally, she was changing it to Carlina,

but she said she would always be Netty.

- Nejdra and Carlina is like in between two families,

so one side know Nejdra,

the other side know Carlina.

So Netty is just me.

Go ahead, girl.

- NARRATOR: She was receiving help from psychologists

at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

- ERNIE: Netty is really a good person--

really a caring person who is in the middle,

uh, of a--of a storm.

l mean, she goes from being the mom of a 5-year-old

with questions about her history

to being in the center of a media frenzy,

with everybody wanting a piece of her

and everybody wanting to talk to her

and use her and manipulate her.

And she needs some time, and some space,

and the ability to sort through all of this.

We're trying to help her do that.

- l think that, um, one day, she'll come along,

and she'll understand

what her real mother is goin' through.

- CARL: Carlina, listen.

You know your mother and father love you.

We had a happy beginnin',

and we can still make this happy.

We all want to see you.

You don't know how much love you have from all of us.

- NARRATOR: Through it all,

the young woman who found out she was Carlina White

said she was glad she did.

- l look at every day as a better day

for me to just wake up and acknowledge

that l do know who l am.

l know who my parents are.

l'm good at just knowin' that.

- NARRATOR: And she, too, hoped that someday,

she would share her life with that family as well.

t