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Woman Charged With Abducting Baby, Leaving It In A Gangway

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago police said a South Side woman abducted a baby earlier this week to help out her boyfriend, who had been arrested for another crime.

WBBM Newsradio's Nancy Harty reports the month-old baby girl was safe and back with her family, after officers found her during a four-hour search of the Grand Crossing neighborhood Tuesday morning.

T'Keyah Williams, 19, was charged with aggravated kidnapping and endangering the life of a child.

Police said Williams is friends with the child's aunt, and took the infant in the middle of the night on Monday, as both slept at the family's home in the 1600 block of East 74th Street.

As for a motive, police said Williams' boyfriend had just been arrested, and the couple thought if they pretended to have a child together, he would get leniency when his bond was set.

Police received a call about a missing child on Tuesday, and immediately began talking to Williams, whom the family suspected after discovering both Williams and the child were missing Tuesday at about 7 a.m. In addition to taking the infant, police said Williams took her car seat, clothing and bottles.

Williams repeatedly claimed to have no knowledge of the baby, and showed no sympathy, according to police, some of whom described her as "evil."

Officer Naomi Gibson said she and other officers searching for hours in temperatures around 32 degrees were starting to have heavy hearts, when they heard the sounds of a baby crying from a gangway at 68th and Ridgeland.

"We stopped, and we heard a muffled cry," she said. "We turned around … and we saw a garbage bag."

Behind that bag was the baby, in a car seat. The infant was cold, but healthy.

Williams was arrested and charged. At a bond hearing on Thursday, her bail was set at $50,000, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office.

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