After 23 Years, Kidnapping May Still Be Prosecuted

Nejdra Nance—or, as her biological parents know her, Carlina White—has been reunited with her real family after 23 years, but the story is far from over. While her appearance answers a lot of questions for her biological family and Nance herself, it raises others—the most pressing of which might be whether or not this will turn into a criminal kidnapping case. “It is an old case, but that doesn’t necessarily shut the door to prosecution,” an NYPD spokesman tells the New York Times. He explains that kidnapping cases can be brought in state court within five years of a victim reaching adulthood; federal law presents no time limit.

Growing up, Nance and her friends speculated she was adopted: She had a "different demeanor, different face" than the rest of her family, says one childhood pal; Nance reportedly grew more suspicious after not being able to get a birth certificate or Social Security number from her family. When Nance found what appeared to be photos of her as a baby on a missing children’s website, she called and said, “I am not sure who I am,” says the president of the organization. Now she and her family have no doubt. Says her biological grandmother, “She’s got her father’s eyes and her mother’s face.” Click for more.
(More Nejdra Nance stories.)