A woman who was abducted as a newborn baby from her hospital cot has died at the age of 30 from a brain tumour. Abbie Humphries became a headline around the world when, at just three hours old, she was kidnapped from the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham by a woman posing as a nurse.
The disappearance sparked a frenzied search and, following an intense media campaign, baby Abbie was found 16 days later in Wollaton, a suburb of Nottingham, during a third police raid on a house.
The secret of her abduction came to light for Abbie when she was ten years old during a house move, where she stumbled upon press clippings and a note from Princess Diana, who shared her July 1 birthday. Growing up, Abbie excelled as a competitive swimmer, took to the skies as a flight attendant, dabbled in IT, and eventually married her teenage love, Karl Sundgren.
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(Image: Facebook)
In a heartfelt Facebook tribute, Karl announced that Abbie had succumbed to her long battle with cancer on Sunday, surrounded by family and friends. He penned: “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. We will be celebrating her life on Saturday 14 December from 2pm at the Sundgren house in Whenuapai. Please feel free to join us. Abbie was so strong, and her infectious smile will forever remain in our hearts,” reports the Mirror.
Abbie’s family has been haunted by tragedy in the decades since the kidnap. Abbie’s mother Karen died of breast cancer in 2020, several years after the family had left the UK for a new life in New Zealand.
(Image: PA)
Following her mum’s death, Abbie said in an interview in 2021: “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.”
Abbie was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2021, just a year after losing her mother. Despite being given a prognosis of just 12 months, she lived for almost four years before sadly passing away on Sunday.
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