Tragedy as snatched baby Abbie dies at 30

Survivor of 1994 ordeal loses four-year battle with cancer

- ADAM ASPINALL

When Abbie Humphries moved house to New Zealand as a 10-year-old, she found a box of press cuttings revealing the shocking truth about her life.

As a baby she had been at the centre of one of Britain's biggest news stories of the 1990s when she was abducted from a maternity ward in Nottingham just hours after she was born.

Police scoured the country, which became gripped as her parents pleaded for her return, and even Princess Diana sent a message of support.

Mercifully, Abbie was found in a property in the city's Wollaton suburb and reunited with her parents after 16 days.

Yesterday it was revealed that Abbie had died at the age of just 30, four years after being diagnosed with brain cancer.

Husband Karl Sundgren posted: "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. Abbie was so strong, and her infectious smile will forever remain in our hearts."

When Abbie began suffering headaches in 2020, after her mother had died of breast cancer, doctors discovered she had a 5cm tumour.

In 2021, after being given 12 months to live, Abbie said: "There is no point feeling angry or blaming anything.

"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."

Speaking about how she found out the full truth about her birth in 1994, she explained: "My parents told me all about it as I grew up, but not all in one go. It came out in bits and pieces, part of the family conversation."