Deputies from the Missoula County Sheriff's Office arrested a man who left his five-month-old child to die in the mountains of Montana. Officers were called to Lolo Hot Springs area after a man was reported to be threatening people with a gun. When they arrived, the man had left but witnesses said he had a child with him. Not long after police showed up, the man, identified as 32-year-old Francis Crowley, returned and police took him into custody.
“When deputies tried to interview him, he appeared to be under the influence of drugs and was not making sense to the officers,” Missoula County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Brenda Bassett said.
After being interrogated by police, Crowley told the officers that he had buried the infant somewhere in the mountains, sparking a massive search of the area involving officers from the Missoula County Search and Rescue, US Forest Service and Bureau, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Montana Highway Patrol.
Six hours after the ground search began, a member of a search party heard "the faint cry of a baby" and was able to find the infant face down, buried under a pile of sticks. The baby was "clothed in only a wet and soiled onesie," and had been left unattended in the woods for at least nine hours while the temperature dropped as low as 46 degrees. The child was taken to the hospital and was in good condition.
Crowley is being charged with criminal endangerment and officials say more charges are pending.
In a Facebook post detailing the incident, the Missoula County Sheriff's Office called the successful search and rescue a miracle.
For all of us at the sheriffs office, this is what we call a miracle. For the officers who were present for this event, its especially hard knowing what this small baby endured in the last 24 hours. Sheriff McDermott would like to thank those who assisted in the search and those who called 911, helping first responders bring this baby to safety.