Woman abducted as newborn from hospital in 1994 dies of brain tumour

A woman who was snatched from a hospital maternity ward in 1994 - just hours after she was born - has died from a brain tumour. Abbie Humphries was taken from Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham by a woman posing as a nurse, sparking a nationwide manhunt

Abbie was tracked to a property in the city's suburb of Wollaton and reunited with her parents 16 days after she was abducted. Abbie’s husband, Karl Sundgren, announced she had passed away aged 30 in a social media post on Sunday. Four years ago she was diagnosed with grade-4 brain cancer. He wrote: “Our beautiful Abbie peacefully passed away yesterday, surrounded by loved ones. She fought so hard with so much strength and grace for over four years and can finally rest. Abbie was so strong, and her infectious smile will forever remain in our hearts.”

Doctors discovered a 5cm brain tumour in November 2020 when Abbie started getting headaches after her mother Karen died of breast cancer. Following her diagnosis in 2021, Abbie told the Mail on Sunday: “There is no point feeling angry or blaming anything. We have just had a terrible amount of bad luck. I usually choose to look at the positive side of everything. It makes everyone feel better.”

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The family moved to New Zealand when Abbie was a child to start a new life after their ordeal and her husband said there will be a celebration of her life in Whenuapai, north-western Auckland, this weekend.

Abbie reportedly did not know about her abduction until she moved house aged 10 when she found press cuttings. Her parents, Roger and Karen, appeared on television during the 1994 police investigation pleading for their baby's