Carlina White Update: Ann Pettway Admits She Stole Infant in 1987, Says FBI

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Ann Pettway, the North Carolina woman accused of stealing a child from a New York City hospital more than two decades ago, admitted to stealing Carlina White as an infant in 1987 after she apparently had trouble having her own children, police said.

PICTURES: Missing Children, Where Are They?

Authorities say Pettway, 44, confessed to abducting White, now 23, from a crib at Harlem Hospital, during an interview Sunday with FBI agent Maria Johnson.

In the five-page criminal complaint charging Pettway with kidnapping, Johnson said Pettway suffered several miscarriages before taking the newborn from the hospital by train to her home and raising her as her own in Bridgeport, Conn.

Pettway claimed that she "is sorry and knows that she has caused a lot of pain," states the complaint.

Pettway turned herself into authorities Sunday on a warrant from North Carolina, where she's on probation because of a conviction for attempted embezzlement, FBI supervisory special agent William Reiner said.

Brian Pettway, a 38-year-old cousin of Ann Pettway who lives in New Haven, Conn., said she appeared pregnant in 1987 and disappeared, only to return with a baby the family assumed was hers, according to CBS station WCBS. He said Pettway was a reliable, loving and trustworthy cousin, one of his favorites.

"This is so uncharacteristic," Brian Pettway told WCBS. "We're all left with our mouths opened. It's kind of like a double loss. We accepted her (Carlina White) as family. Unbeknownst to us, she was not our family."

Carlina White, who was raised Nejdra Nance, said she became skeptical of her past after Pettway could never provide her with a birth certificate. She discovered her true identity after contacting the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

After 23 years, she was reunited last week with her biological parents, Joy White and Carl Tyson.

If Pettway is convicted, she could face a mandatory minimum of 20 years, to life in prison.

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CARLINA WHITE ABDUCTION CASE ON CRIMESIDER