Ouachita County Deputies discover baby alive in car that crashed off highway days earlier

Police lights
Police lights

Authorities on Monday found a 1-year-old boy alive in a car that had crashed off an Arkansas highway about two days before, a discovery one investigator called a "miracle."

The investigation started when investigators found a 3-year-old boy wandering on Arkansas 24 west of Camden in Ouachita County shortly before 8 a.m., Detective Nathan Greeley said.

Deputies brought the child, who had several scratches and cuts on his body, back to the Ouachita County jail and posted a photo of the toddler on Facebook to try to find his family, according to a news release.

Authorities learned the name of the child’s mother and determined that the family hadn’t seen the woman or her children in several days, Greeley said. When deputies returned to the place where the boy was found, they discovered a green Impala wrecked in a ravine about 300 yards east of where the 3-year-old had been found. The crash couldn’t be seen from the road, Greeley said.

Deputies then found the body of the 25-year-old mother, who had been thrown from the vehicle. Inside the wrecked Impala, her 1-year-old child was still in a carseat. Greeley said the car, which was lying on its side, had been in the ravine for about two days.

Greeley said the 3-year-old "basically saved his brother's life," adding that finding the baby alive was "a miracle."

The 1-year-old was taken to Ouachita County Medical Center, while the 3-year-old was put into the care of the state Department of Human Services, Greeley said. The detective said that neither child appeared to be suffering from life-threatening injuries, but he said both were dehydrated due to being alone for days.

Greeley declined to identify the boys’ mother but said she was from Camden. Arkansas State Police are investigating the crash, he said.

Upcoming Events