How One Mom Found Her Kidnapped Daughter At A Birthday Party
By William Kennedy
History - Science
It’s every parent’s nightmare to have a child go missing, but for Luz Cuevas, it became all too real in 1997 when her 10-day-old daughter Delimar vanished during a fire that ravaged their North Philadelphia home. Cuevas was wounded as she attempted to find Delimar, and though authorities ruled that her baby had died, she remained unconvinced.
Six years later, Cuevas was attending a birthday party for the child of an acquaintance when she ran into a 6-year-old girl who bore a stunning resemblance to herself and her two surviving children. Cuevas told the girl that she had some bubblegum in her hair to secure a few strands for a DNA test.
The test confirmed that the girl — introduced to Cuevas as Aliyah Hernandez — was in fact the missing baby Delimar from the 1997 fire. With proof in hand, Cuevas filed charges against Carolyn Correa, the woman who had brought Aliyah to the party.
Correa, a friend of a cousin of Aliyah’s father, was arrested as the prime suspect, as she had been visiting Cueva’s house on that fateful 1997 day, and the flames were discovered after she left. She is currently serving 30 years in prison, while Cuevas has been reunited with her daughter.