The family of a 97-year-old woman taken from her Melbourne nursing home say they are "shaken to the core" as a woman they do not know faced court charged with kidnapping the great grandmother.
Irene Moschones, 51, appeared before Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday charged with kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment after Dimitra Pavlopoulou was taken from her Clarinda nursing home on Saturday.
Ms Pavlopoulou was wheeled out of her room at Clarinda Manor about 12pm on Saturday and put in a car, her wheelchair left behind.
Police found the 97-year-old at a Cheltenham home at about 9.30pm on Saturday after Moschones allegedly took the older woman there.
An associate of Moschones rang police after he saw Ms Pavlopoulou lying on a mattress in the living room, police prosecutor Sergeant Daryl Eales said.
It's alleged the 51-year-old believes Ms Pavlopoulou is her mother, even though investigators have established Moschone's mother died in 2013.
Sgt Eales said Moschones believes "there was a conspiracy against her committed by a group of people to get her inheritance from her mother".
Moschones has previously requested her mother's body be exhumed so DNA testing can disprove her mother's death and funeral.
She also visited Ms Pavlopoulou's nursing home using a fake name four days before she allegedly took the 97-year-old from her room while staff were distracted.
Ms Pavlopoulou's family on Sunday thanked police and the public for their help locating the 97-year-old.
"What happened yesterday is for the movies," they said in a statement.
"This rare occurrence even baffled some of the most senior police officers at the scene."
The family said Ms Pavlopoulou's kidnapping "shook her family to the core"
The 97-year-old survived World War II and a civil war in Greece and has three children, seven grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren.
Magistrate Ross Betts denied Moschones bail on Sunday after police said they are concerned about her mental state.
Police also said they were worried Moschones would again try to take Ms Pavlopoulou from the nursing home and put her life at risk a second time, as she suffers from several conditions that require medical care.
Moschones will return to court on Wednesday.
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