A Louisiana sheriff said Tuesday that a “miracle baby” who survived two days in a ditch during Hurricane Beryl was found crawling on the side of the road by a passing truck driver near where her 4-year-old brother was found dead the previous day.
Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Gary “Stitch” Guillory told reporters at a news conference in Lake Charles that the baby had numerous insect bites but otherwise appeared to be in good health.
“We consider this one-year-old a miracle baby because he’s still alive,” Guillory said. “He spent two days on the side of the highway in bad weather. We’re so grateful that a truck driver found him.”
Authorities had been searching for the 1-year-old since they discovered his 4-year-old brother’s body floating in a lake behind a welcome center on Interstate 10 near the Texas border. The cause and manner of the 4-year-old’s death are pending autopsy results.
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The Calcasieu River Bridge is located in Lake Charles, Louisiana. (Mark Felix for The Washington Post via Getty Images, File)
Investigators determined the 4-year-old boy 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 the children were found. Meridian police said he was arrested sometime Tuesday without his 1-year-old child.
Authorities said the 4-year-old boy’s body was found in a pond behind the Vinton Welcome Center on Louisiana’s I-10 highway, while his 1-year-old brother was found alive the next day in a ditch on the side of the road. (Google Maps)
Authorities, concerned the 1-year-old might be dead, organized a search of the waters where his brother’s body was found Tuesday morning, after a truck driver later found the baby and called 911.
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“Once deputies arrived on scene they were able to positively identify the child as the missing 1-year-old,” the sheriff’s office release said.
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Jack will be extradited to Louisiana, where he will face charges of failure to report a missing child. The judge who issued the arrest warrant set bail at $300,000, Guillory said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
