S4C documentary revisits the case of a missing newborn from Glan Clwyd hospital

The six-part programme, Troseddau Cymru gyda Sian Lloyd (Welsh Crimes with Sian Lloyd) sees Sian revisit notorious crime cases from the past, shedding light on the complex and often heartbreaking stories.

The next episode airs on Wednesday 19 February at 9pm. It revisits the case of a missing baby, Lydia Owens, from Glan Clwyd Hospital, and recounts the story with insights from experts, detectives, and health professionals.

This harrowing event captured the attention of the nation, not only due to the nature of the disappearance but also shone a light on hospital safety and security protocols.

In the early evening in February 1995, Glan Clwyd Hospital was thrown into chaos when a baby girl was reported missing from the maternity ward.

Her distraught parents Christine and Michael Owens, immediately alerted hospital staff, who launched an urgent search.

Siân Lloyd presents the documentary through a combination of reenactments, and interviews and speaks with detectives who played a key role in the investigation, who have never before shared their story publicly.

Sian also hears from a nurse who was working at the hospital at the time, about the impact the crime had on members of the wider hospital community.

Siân herself had worked on the story as a journalist, she says: “I had just finished my degree at the beginning of the 1990’s, I wasn’t expecting to be working on such a high profile, prominent story so soon into my career where the press played a pivotal part in getting vital information across.”

One key element of the programme is the invaluable insights provided by criminologist Dylan Rhys Jones, who offers an analysis of the psychology behind this type of crime. Senior midwifery lecturer, Sarah Aubrey, shares her perspective on the tight knit environment of a maternity ward and vulnerability of newborns in hospital settings, and explains how security in hospitals and maternity wards in particular has changed dramatically since that time.

But it wasn’t only the experts who provided insight—two local detectives, Huw Vevar and Alan Dylan Owen, recount their experience tracking down the missing baby. The pair’s breakthrough came after receiving a small, yet critical tip-off. Their search took them to a house in Rhyl.

In a heart-stopping moment, they realized they were facing the woman who had taken the infant as soon as she came to the door. The officers’ gut instincts were proven correct when they discovered the baby was alive and well, seemingly unscathed by the harrowing ordeal.

Huw Vevar said: “As soon as the woman came to the door and she told us it wasn’t convenient, we knew it was her, we had a gut feeling, we knew.

“She tried to slam the door but instinct and years of experience, made me quickly put my foot in, and we ran after her down the corridor. We found the baby.”

The resolution of the case brought relief to the family, who had endured an unimaginable ordeal. Yet, the impact of the case reverberated beyond the immediate family and the detectives involved.

It was part of a series of events in the evolution of hospital safety protocols.

Through the eyes of the detectives, experts, and those who lived through the events, the documentary reveals not only the details of a shocking crime but also the broader implications it had for hospital security.

It stands as a reminder of the importance of vigilance in healthcare settings, and the lengths that authorities must go to in order to protect the most vulnerable members of society.