On the night of 15/12/1997, a fire ripped through a Philadelphia home, where Luz Cuevas lived with her husband, Pedro Vera, and their 10-day-old daughter, Delimar Vera. In a matter of minutes, the infant was gone.

In interviews years later, Cuevas said she told first responders that she ran to the crib to get her daughter, but the baby wasn't there.

According to authorities, a death certificate for Delimar was never issued because a body was never recovered. However, investigators attributed this to the devastation caused by the fire, reportedly started by "the improper use of a homemade extension cord." The medical examiner's office concluded the newborn had been "completely consumed by the fire."

The house after the 1997 fire. Photo: AP

The house after the 1997 fire. Photo: AP

However, Cuevas suspected someone had taken her daughter. Police and firefighters dismissed her concerns, suggesting she was distraught, but Cuevas never stopped believing Delimar was alive. She was right.

A fateful reunion

On 24/1/2004, at her husband’s relative's birthday party, Cuevas saw a little girl who inadvertently blocked her path.

"This girl walks in front of me. I look at the girl. The girl looks at me. I told my sister 'That’s my daughter’," Cuevas told NBC10 in 3/2004. Her sister reassured her, advising her to find proof.

Thinking like a crime expert, Cuevas pretended to discover gum in the girl's hair and cut 5 strands, wrapping them in a napkin and placing them in a nylon bag. She knew she needed hair for DNA testing, something she had learned from a television program.

Cuevas sought help from the local government office. Initially skeptical, they were eventually convinced by Cuevas’s “mother's intuition” and contacted the Philadelphia police on her behalf. They also contacted authorities in New Jersey, where the child was living with the woman she believed to be her mother, to arrange DNA testing.

On 1/3/2004, Cuevas received the news that the girl at the party was indeed Delimar. She screamed with joy.

The following day, Carolyn Correa, 42, a distant cousin of Pedro Vera, turned herself in to Philadelphia police. She was charged with kidnapping, arson, aggravated assault, concealing the whereabouts of a child, and interfering with custody.

Luz Cuevas overjoyed after finding her daughter, who was kidnapped as a 10-day-old baby. Photo: Polaris

Luz Cuevas overjoyed after finding her daughter, who was kidnapped as a 10-day-old baby. Photo: Polaris

What happened to Delimar?

Police said Correa visited Pedro and Luz’s home on the evening of 15/12/1997, took Delimar from her crib, and set fire to the baby’s bedroom to cover her tracks.

Cuevas recounted that Correa had gone upstairs to use the bathroom. About 10 minutes after she came downstairs, Cuevas heard a loud explosion from the second floor. When she ran upstairs, smoke and flames were billowing from Delimar’s room. Cuevas found the baby’s crib empty and the window wide open.

Cuevas, who is Puerto Rican, said she tried to tell firefighters in Spanish that her daughter was not in the room, but no one listened. Authorities suggested a "language barrier" may have prevented first responders from fully understanding her.

Cuevas filed a lawsuit against the city of Philadelphia and several officials, alleging that her family's right to due process had been violated. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2006.

Meanwhile, Correa renamed the child Aaliyah Hernandez (after a pop star) and raised her as her own just 15 miles away in New Jersey. The girl attended private school and worked as a model, appearing in commercials.

In Delimar’s memory, Correa was a single mother who was frequently absent, working long hours at a pharmacy. Delimar said Correa had a strong personality, sometimes cruel, hitting her with a belt. However, it was Correa’s live-in boyfriend who truly terrified Delimar. "He was a psycho and very mean," she said.

After Cuevas found Delimar, members of the Vera family said they had suspected the girl wasn't really Correa’s child. "It’s a crazy story, like a movie. We had told our cousin Pedro about this, but nothing ever happened. I don’t know why," cousin Alison Vera told the Courier Post.

According to Pedro, Correa introduced Aaliyah to him at the 2004 birthday party where Luz was reunited with her daughter. "I had a feeling it was my daughter because she looked like me. After all those years, I thought she was dead," Pedro told NBC10.

Reunion with family

According to the Associated Press (AP), Luz and Pedro were granted legal custody of their daughter on 5/3/2004. Three days later, Luz picked up Delimar from the state's family services office in Burlington County, New Jersey.

At the time, Luz had two sons from a previous relationship and a 4-year-old son with Pedro, but the couple was no longer together. They shared custody of Delimar, who lived with her mother.

According to Correa's lawyer, Delimar screamed when child welfare workers took her from the lawyer’s office and away from the woman she had believed to be her mother for 6 years. However, Luz's lawyer said that when reunited with her biological parents after the court hearing, Delimar looked happy and energetic, hugging and kissing her mother.

Back home with her three brothers, Delimar told reporters: "I feel like I’m in my real home."

Delimar Vera with her father, Pedro, and brother, Samuel, at their new home in 3/2004. Photo: EPA

Delimar Vera with her father, Pedro, and brother, Samuel, at their new home in 3/2004. Photo: EPA

On Good Morning America, Luz recounted how Delimar called her "mom" and accepted her.

Correa's motive

In 2/2005, Correa pleaded no contest to charges of kidnapping and interfering with custody.

At her sentencing hearing in 9/2005, her defense attorney argued that Correa suffered from a psychotic disorder that led her to believe she had been pregnant and genuinely thought Delimar was her own child.

In a brief statement, Correa apologized for the "misunderstanding" and told the judge that Pedro had given her the baby. "I love her like she was my own. I truly believed she was my child," Correa said.

The judge sentenced Correa to 9 to 30 years in prison, noting that she had never admitted wrongdoing. The judge also said if Correa had an accomplice, that person remained unidentified. Investigators believed she was responsible for taking Delimar from the house, but the prosecutor said there was no evidence to charge anyone else.

Regarding Correa's allegations in court, Pedro commented that they were "crazy."

In a 2005 prison interview, Correa said she was "a loving person," not the monster others portrayed her to be. Correa was pardoned in 3/2013.

Behind the 'happy ending'

The story of Delimar’s abduction exploded across domestic and international news channels and was adapted into the 2008 television movie Little Girl Lost. It was hailed as a happy ending, a miraculous reunion, and a testament to a mother's love. But the truth was much darker and more complex.

At age 6, Delimar had to start over completely, with new parents and siblings, in a new city, new school, new language (her biological parents didn't speak English, and Delimar didn't speak Spanish), and even a new name.

Delimar admitted that moving in with her birth mother wasn't easy, and at first, she "hated" the name Delimar. For a long time, she thought her new life was only temporary and that she would return to her former family, even though her memories of Correa weren't always positive. Delimar received a lot of attention from the authorities, the media, and the public, but no psychological support.

Luz and Delimar at Luz's wedding in 2018. Photo: Instagram

Luz and Delimar at Luz's wedding in 2018. Photo: Instagram

At 12, a falling out with Luz left Delimar devastated and depressed, but she felt unable to confide in anyone. She tried moving in with her father but ran away after an argument. Delimar worked odd jobs and moved from place to place. At 19, she lived with an abusive boyfriend.

At 20, Delimar escaped that toxic relationship and began to stabilize her life. She married a single father in 2018. "Those experiences made me more protective of my family," she shared in 2024.

Delimar’s father lives in Puerto Rico but calls her regularly for hours. She and her mother often vacation together and talk several times a week. And her three brothers are her "best friends."

Tue Anh (according to ENews, The Guardian)