Abbie Humphries, whose abduction as a newborn from a hospital shocked the nation in 1994, has passed away from a brain tumor at the age of 30. Despite relocating to New Zealand in search of a fresh start, Abbie’s life was marked by ongoing tragedy. Her mother, Karen, died from breast cancer in 2020, and now Abbie has lost her battle with a grade 4 brain tumor, passing away on Sunday.
Her husband, Karl Sundgren, shared the news on Facebook: “Our beautiful Abbie peacefully passed away yesterday, surrounded by loved ones. She fought so hard with strength and grace for over four years and can now finally rest.”
Abbie’s story first made headlines in July 1994 when, just hours after her birth, she was kidnapped from her cot at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham. Her parents, Roger and Karen, made desperate public appeals, and after 16 agonizing days, Abbie was found. The incident was a nationwide sensation.
After the family moved to New Zealand, the tragedy took an even darker turn. In the weeks following her mother’s death, Abbie began experiencing severe headaches, which were later diagnosed as a grade 4 brain tumor, not the effects of grief as she had thought. In a 2021 interview, Abbie reflected, “We’ve just had a terrible amount of bad luck. I try to focus on the positive side of everything. It makes everyone feel better.”
Abbie was known for her strength and her infectious smile, as described by her husband. “Abbie was so strong, and her infectious smile will forever remain in our hearts,” he said.
Born into a story of survival, Abbie was one of the lucky ones. Unlike other kidnapped children, such as Madeleine McCann, Abbie was found. A fellow reporter covering the story in 1994 had remarked, “We’re going to cover every milestone in her life — her first step, her first day at school, her wedding.” Her parents left Britain partly to give their children, including siblings Charlie and Alice, a safer and happier life. Abbie went on to become a champion swimmer, representing New Zealand, and graduated with a degree in psychology and criminology.
She later worked as a flight attendant and in IT, before marrying Karl in 2017. Despite her high-profile past, few in New Zealand knew about her abduction until Abbie herself discovered it while moving houses at age 10. She found press clippings and a message from Princess Diana, who shared her July 1 birthday. It wasn’t until she watched the 2020 drama The Secrets She Keeps, based loosely on her abduction, that Abbie truly grasped the extent of her case.
Abbie’s father, Roger, was deeply affected by the trauma. He had been with Abbie when the woman, posing as a nurse, took her for a hearing test. “He felt what happened was his fault because Mum was a midwife at the hospital and it wouldn’t have happened if she’d been in the room,” Abbie once shared. “As I was growing up, it was like he had flashbacks and had to know where I was right then and there.”
The kidnapping, one of the most audacious in British history, began when Karen stepped out of the room to make a phone call, leaving Roger with Abbie. When the woman posing as a nurse left the hospital with the baby, it took Karen just moments to realize something was wrong. The ensuing police hunt captivated the nation.
Abbie was found two weeks later in a house in the Nottingham suburb of Wollaton, after a tip-off led officers to a woman named Julie Kelley. Kelley had been pretending to be pregnant and had convinced her boyfriend she was expecting a boy. When she returned home with a baby girl, neighbors grew suspicious. Kelley pleaded guilty to the abduction and was given probation.
Abbie’s life, shaped by this early trauma, was marked by resilience. Despite facing numerous hardships, including her own cancer diagnosis, Abbie maintained a positive outlook. She and Karl had been planning to start a family when she was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumor. Before starting treatment, Abbie had her eggs removed, but she had come to terms with the fact that she would likely not be able to have children.
Tragically, Abbie’s battle was complicated further by a family history of cancer. Her mother, aunt, grandmother, and cousins all had been affected by Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, a rare genetic condition that increases the risk of various cancers. Abbie herself did not carry the gene, but her sister Alice did, and it was a heavy burden for Abbie to bear.
In the years following her diagnosis in early 2021, Abbie was given a prognosis of just one or two years. She ultimately lived nearly four years, during which she found solace in her family and the beauty of the life she had built in New Zealand.
“Living through this has made me appreciate Karl, my family, and our home by the beach,” Abbie said. “I believe in doing things when you want to do them because you never know what’s around the corner.”
Related Topics:
