A “miracle baby” survived two days in a ditch during Hurricane Beryl before a passing trucker spotted him crawling on a roadside near where the child’s 4-year-old brother was found dead a day earlier, a Louisiana sheriff said on Tuesday.
The baby had numerous bug bites but otherwise appeared to be in good condition, Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Gary “Stitch” Guillory told reporters during a news conference in Lake Charles.
“We look at this 1-year-old as our miracle baby because he was still alive,” Guillory said. “This kid spent two days out in the weather on the side of the highway. Thank God that trucker seen him.”
Authorities had been searching for the 1-year-old after finding the body of his 4-year-old brother floating in a lake behind an Interstate 10 welcome center near the Texas state line. The 4-year-old’s cause and manner of death are pending autopsy results.
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The Calcasieu River Bridge is shown in Lake Charles, Louisiana. (Mark Felix for The Washington Post via Getty Images, File)
Investigators learned the 4-year-old was last seen with his mother, Aaliyah Jack, 25, of Lake Charles, and his 1-year-old brother.
Jack was arrested in Meridian, Mississippi, more than 350 miles from where her children were found. Meridian police said she was arrested some time Tuesday without her 1-year-old child.
The 4-year-old boy was found dead in a pond behind the Vinton Welcome Center off I-10 in Louisiana, authorities said. His 1-year-old brother was found alive a day later in a ditch off the roadway. (Google Maps)
Fearing the 1-year-old was dead, authorities prepared Tuesday morning to search the water where the body of his brother was found. Then a truck driver called 911 after spotting the baby.
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“When deputies arrived, they were able to positively identify the child as the missing 1-year-old,” the sheriff’s news release said.
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Jack was to be extradited to Louisiana, where she faced a charge of failure to report a missing child. The judge who issued the warrant set bond at $300,000, Guillory said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
