A woman who the authorities believe took a 3-week-old baby girl from Harlem Hospital 23 years ago and raised her as her own child was arrested Sunday afternoon on federal kidnapping charges, according to the United States attorney in Manhattan.

The woman, Ann Pettway, was taken into custody by the F.B.I. in Bridgeport, Conn., and was expected to appear in Manhattan federal court on Monday to face the charges, the United States attorney, Preet Bharara, said in a statement. Ms. Pettway had raised the child, Carlina White, in Connecticut and Georgia. Ms. White, now, 23, was recently reunited with her parents in the Bronx, touching off a storm of national attention and a search by federal authorities and the police in several states for Ms. Pettway.

Detective Keith Bryant of the Bridgeport Police Department said Ms. Pettway had turned herself in to the F.B.I. on Sunday morning.

On Friday, an arrest warrant for Ms. Pettway was issued in North Carolina for a probation violation. She had been convicted there of attempted embezzlement, and North Carolina officials said Ms. Pettway had not sought the required permission to leave the state.

Pam Walker, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Corrections, said earlier Sunday that the state had planned to initiate extradition proceedings later this week.

Carlina White was abducted when she was 19 days old. On Aug. 4, 1987, she was brought to Harlem Hospital with a high fever by her mother, Joy White. A stranger, dressed in a nurse’s uniform, approached the anxious mother to console her. A few hours later it was discovered that Carlina was missing from the pediatrics ward. The baby was never heard from again, and perplexed New York City detectives continued to follow up leads about the mysterious woman.

According to the police account and later information gleaned by reporters, the little girl was taken first to Bridgeport, where she was given a new name, Nejdra Nance. There some neighbors would whisper behind her back that she was adopted. Ms. White then moved to Georgia. By her 16th birthday, she had begun to suspect that the woman who raised her was not her mother, partly because they did not resemble each other.

Ms. White turned to a Web site of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and there discovered a photograph that matched other infant photos that were apparently taken after the abduction. She called Joy White, who at first referred the call to the New York police. DNA samples were taken, and Ms. White’s DNA was found to match samples taken from Joy White and the father, Carl Tyson, who had separated years before and went on to raise separate families.

Paul J. Browne, the department’s chief spokesman, said Sunday that the police had been assisting federal agents in New York and Connecticut.

Neighbors near Ms. Pettway’s home in Raleigh, N.C., said Ms. Pettway had moved there with her son and had told them that she had a daughter in Connecticut.

(Source: NY Times)