Police on Friday sought a 12-year-old girl needing heart surgery and her mother, who authorities said abducted the girl from a hospital because the woman's religion forbids blood transfusions. The girl, Kimberly Winfield, was believed to have left Children's Memorial Hospital about 1 a.m. Thursday, said police Lt. Edmund Beazley. The mother, Caroline Winfield, called relatives to say she wanted to return her daughter, said Dave Schneidman, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. But she was afraid to surrender for fear of being prosecuted. Police obtained an arrest warrant for the 35-year-old mother on a charge of child abduction because Kimberly is a ward of the state, Beazley said. ``We're not real interested in catching the mother if she doesn't want to be caught, but we do want the child back so we can save the child's life,'' Schneidman said. Police and the state Department of Children and Family Services said they were reasonably certain the mother was responsible for the child's disappearance. ``There doesn't seem to be any doubt of it right now,'' Beazley said. ``Before the child was discovered missing, the mother had told relatives that she was going to take the child from the hospital because she did not approve of the surgery,'' said department spokesman Schneidman. Schneidman said the child needed open-heart surgery to survive. ``The prognosis is she has anywhere from a week to a month to live without the surgery,'' he said. However, Children's Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Jan Benzies said Kimberly, who was admitted Wednesday, was not critically ill. ``She was undergoing tests to determine the severity of her heart problem,'' the spokeswoman said. ``Her doctor does not believe her life is in immediate danger. ``However, it is clinically advisable that she be located and treated within a month,'' she said. No one at the hospital saw the mother or child leave, Beazley said. ``Apparently, she just got her dressed and walked out,'' he said. ``They were allowing the mother to stay in the room with her, which is pretty common with young children. The nurse came back to check on them and they were both gone.'' The mother is a Jehovah's Witness, Beazley said. Jehovah's Witnesses refuse blood transfusions as being against the teachings of the Bible. ``You can't do surgery without a transfusion of blood,'' Schneidman said. The Department of Children and Family Services waited about 34 hours after the disappearance to notify the press so police could check leads on Winfield's whereabouts, Schneidman said. Those leads were exhausted, he said. The agency was named temporary custodian of Kimberly and two brothers, ages 2 and 8, about a month ago because Winfield was unable to care for them, Schneidman said. ``They were living on the streets without proper housing or any evident means of support,'' Schneidman said. The boys, whose names were not released, are now living with their paternal grandmother in Chicago, Beazley said. A department caseworker noticed Kimberly was ill and took her to the hospital, Schneidman said. Larry Winfield, Kimberly's father, had been notified and was very concerned, Schneidman said. He maintains a permanent residence and is employed, but the mother and children have not lived with him for some time, Schneidman said.
