Man Who Foiled Abduction of Baby Is Honored

To laughter, tears and applause, an Oxnard respiratory therapist who snatched a baby from a would-be abductor was lauded Tuesday by co-workers and police.

They were applauding Greg Oswalt’s efforts on behalf of newborn Ricardo Herrera Jr., who last week was literally grabbed by Oswalt from the arms of a would-be abductor as she tried to leave the neonatal unit of St. John’s Regional Medical Center with Baby Ricardo.

At the time, Oswalt said Tuesday, he had no idea he was about to become anyone’s hero.

“To tell the truth, when the abduction alarm went off, my first thought was, ‘Geez, here’s a mom trying to beat the bill,’ ” said Oswalt just before he was formally honored by hospital administrators, Oxnard Police Chief Harold Hurtt, his boss and his co-workers.

“All the employees here are trained to respond to those alarms--they’re all over the hospital,” said Oswalt. Hospital officials have declined to provide many details about its sensors and alarm triggers, for security reasons.

The abductor, who is still at large, had minutes earlier posed as a nurse and taken the baby “for a photograph” from the arms of unsuspecting relatives who were celebrating the baby’s healthy birth with his mother, Maria Arevalo, in her hospital room.

On Tuesday, during a break from his shift in the neonatal unit, Oswalt received a plaque, a check for $1,000 from the hospital, a $100 gift certificate and two tickets to a game at Dodger Stadium next week.

The game starts at 7:05 p.m., said director of security Mike Beckett to much laughter, since Oswalt’s shift ends at 7 p.m.

Oswalt’s boss, Greg Morrison, joined the fan club: “Greg, we just love you.”

In accepting the kudos, Oswalt said, “I hope I don’t blubber. . . . I’m overwhelmed. This was not one of the opportunities I had in mind when I came to work here.”

“Baby Ricardo and his mother are flourishing,” said Gloria Chinea, the medical center’s director of patient education, who talked to Arevalo by phone earlier Tuesday. “She told me that Ricardito is doing fine. She likes to stay home, close to him. She said they’re very grateful for Greg’s quick action.”