A Texas truck driver is being hailed as a hero after he rescued a “miracle baby” found in a Louisiana ditch during severe weather caused by Hurricane Beryl after his 4-year-old brother was found dead.
Authorities said during a news conference that the unidentified 1-year-old spent two days exposed to the elements in a ditch alongside Interstate 10, about 5 to 8 miles from where the boy’s unidentified brother’s body was discovered. Their mother, Aaliyah Jack, 25, of Lake Charles, has been charged with murder.
DHL Supply Chain driver Reginald Walton told Lafayette television station KADN-TV he found the unidentified 1-year-old while driving along the interstate, initially thinking the child was a dog until he saw the baby move. He called 911 while he parked his truck and ran to the baby.
“Sure enough, there was a little boy sitting down the embankment there,” he said. “As I approached him, he smiled at me, and then he stood up and started crying and walked toward me.”
Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Gary “Stitch” Guillory said at a news conference that the baby was in good spirits and in stable condition despite spending two days crawling around a ditch.
“We look at this 1-year-old as our miracle baby because he was still alive. Unbelievable,” he said. “Thank God that trucker seen him.”
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Authorities had already been searching for the baby after the 4-year-old’s body was discovered near the Louisiana-Texas border behind the Louisiana Welcome Center in Vinton, a small town part of the Lake Charles metropolitan area.
The sheriff’s office received a tip from people who believed the 4-year-old was a family member who they hadn’t seen in a while. Authorities learned the boy was last seen with his baby brother and Jack before his death. Jack was located in Meridian, Mississippi, without the 1-year-old, prompting investigators to fear the worst, Guillory said.
The 4-year-old’s body showed no signs of injuries and an autopsy will be conducted to determine his cause of death.
Jack had initially been charged with failure to report a missing child, but her charges were upgraded Thursday to include second-degree murder and cruelty to a juvenile. Her bond was set at $9.1 million.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry declared a state of emergency Tuesday due to damage caused by Beryl. The storm caused flooding, power outages and damage to homes and businesses.