Raised By A Stranger: The Stunning and Heart-Wrenching Tale of Carlina White

In August 1987, Carlina White was abducted from a Harlem hospital by an unidentified woman dressed as a nurse. In 2011, 23-year-old Netty Nance would learn she had been raised by her kidnapper

Depiction of Ann Pettway

Background

At 6 o’clock in the morning on August 5th, 1987, 22-year-old Carl Tyson awoke to a phone call from Joy White–his 16-year-old girlfriend and the mother of his newborn child.

Joy was in tears and difficult to understand, apart from her pleas for Carl to come over right away. But then a police detective who was in the room with her took the receiver to explain the situation, and everything became clear.

Nineteen days ago, Joy had given birth to their baby, Carlina Renae White.

Now, the couple was facing every parent’s worst nightmare: Carlina was missing, and no one had a clue where she had gone.

Photo of Carlina White as a baby (Splash News)

The Disappearance of Carlina White

In the weeks following Carlina’s birth, Joy continued to live with her mother, who helped her care for the baby, while Carl stopped by every night after work.

But on August 4, the day prior to Carlina’s disappearance, Carl received a panicked call from Joy at work. Carlina had developed a high fever.

Carl rushed back to Joy’s place so they could take the baby back to Harlem Hospital for treatment. The next few hours were a flurry of fear and anxiety, so neither parent was able to recall the events in much detail.

Photo of Carlina White (NY Daily News)

But Carl did remember one peculiar incident.

After the doctor informed them that he wanted to keep Carlina in the hospital overnight, a worried Joy broke down in tears. A nurse, in a seeming attempt to comfort her, told her, “The baby don’t cry for you; you cry for the baby.”

The phrase struck Carl as odd and rather insensitive but harmless in the moment. It only later occurred to him that the nurse–who wasn’t wearing a nametag–was trying to get Joy out of the hospital and away from Carlina.

Eventually, the couple agreed that Carl would drop Joy off at her mother’s apartment to pick up a few things, so she could return to the hospital on her own to spend the night with the baby.

They left together at 12:30 am–around the same time that the nurses changed shifts.

It would be 23 years before Carl or Joy saw their daughter again.

Photo of Joy White and Carl Tyson (NY Daily News)