‘Miracle Baby’ Found Crawling Near Highway After 4-Year-Old Brother Found Dead; Mother Arrested

A 1-year-old “miracle baby” survived outside for two days in intermittently stormy weather before being discovered crawling along the side of a highway, a Louisiana sheriff said. 

A truck driver spotted the child by the side of the road a day after the baby’s “4-year-old brother was found dead and his mother was arrested,” Associated Press reported. 

“Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Gary ‘Stitch’ Guillory said the baby had numerous bug bites but otherwise appeared to be in good condition,” according to the report. 

During a press conference on Tuesday, Guillory said autopsy reports are pending for the 4-year-old. The child’s body was discovered in a lake behind an Interstate 10 welcome center near Texas, according to the report. 

Investigators said the 4-year-old and the 1-year-old baby had last been seen on Saturday with their mother, 25-year-old Aaliyah Jack, of Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Authorities feared the 1-year-old was also dead when they discovered the 4-year-old, and had been preparing to search the water for the baby when the truck driver called 911 to report seeing a baby on the side of the road.

“We look at this 1-year old as our miracle baby because he was still alive,” Guillory said.

The search for the child occurred as Hurricane Beryl descended on Texas early Monday, amid bands of heavy rain and intense wind gusts, according to the report. 

“This kid spent two days out in the weather on the side of the highway,” Guillory said. “Thank God that trucker seen him.”

Jack was arrested sometime on Tuesday in Meridian, Mississippi — more than 350 miles from where her children were discovered, according to the report.

“She was located in Mississippi, without the 1-year-old, by the Meridian Police Department and taken into custody,” the Calcasieu Sheriff’s Office said. The baby was subsequently found after the trucker reported seeing the child in a ditch along Interstate 10. 

“When deputies arrived, they were able to positively identify the child as the missing 1 year old,” a CSO news release said.

Jack was set to be extradited to Louisiana, according to the report. She is facing a charge for failure to report a missing child. No other charges were pending as of Wednesday afternoon, although the investigation is ongoing, CSO spokeswoman Kayla Vincent said.

Jack’s bond was set at $300,000.