Background: Miami International Airport (Google Maps). Inset: Alvina Agba (Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation).
A woman accused of attempting to abduct a 4-year-old boy at a Florida airport claims she was merely trying to soothe him.
Alvina Agba, 23, was detained on Tuesday following allegations by the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office that she attempted to flee with another woman’s child. According to an arrest report procured by local CBS station WFOR, Agba, reportedly from England, observed the mother and her son at a checkout counter at Miami International Airport Tuesday morning. As per police, the child was upset, and Agba allegedly offered to pacify him. The boy’s mother permitted Agba to hold him.
But then, Agba allegedly walked away from the line, the boy still in her arms.
The police report indicates that the boy’s mother pursued Agba, demanding the return of her son. Agba allegedly resisted, asserting, “No, this is my child.” According to Fox News Digital, Agba then purportedly sat on the ground and encircled the boy with her arms and legs to immobilize him. While on the floor, Agba is also accused of pushing away the boy’s mother.
When witnesses finally pulled the boy from Agba, she allegedly tried to yank him back.
Police reported that a bystander, Naylet Montano, managed to extract the boy from Agba’s hold and took refuge behind a counter. Agba allegedly shouted at her to “return her child.” Montano recounted to WFOR, “The woman on the floor stood up and attempted to reclaim the boy from me. I refused. I took cover behind the counter to shield the boy. She endeavored to get under the counter. However, upon police arrival, she fled.”
The arrest report stated that three men nearby stood between Montano and Agba to prevent Agba from taking the boy.
Agba was intercepted by deputies at an airport checkpoint. Police stated that upon interrogation, Agba contended she was guiding the boy to a rainbow-decorated wall to settle him. She later told police she “couldn’t recall” what transpired after the boy’s mother demanded her child’s return, allegedly claiming, “[s]he only acted because God instructed her.”
Agba faces charges of custody interference, a felony, alongside two misdemeanor battery counts. She is presently detained at Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation and was anticipated to appear before a judge later on Tuesday, as reported by WFOR.
