An 8-month-old baby has been found alive in a Louisiana field after going missing overnight, much to the delight of Baton Rouge officials in charge of the search who called it a miracle discovery.
The city's police department announced the great news on social media. The young boy, Niguel Jackson, was discovered alive and healthy on Wednesday, March 16, after being abandoned overnight in a field along Plank Road.
According to the Advocate, police and first responders searched for the baby for hours on the ground and through a helicopter overhead. Their hard work paid off as they found the infant unscathed, a development that EMS spokesman Mike Chustz described as nothing short of miraculous.
Tough baby did not cry during rescue operation
The first responders feared Jackson might suffer from hypothermia with temperature dipping near 50 degrees, but he appeared in good spirits when personnel from the Baton Rouge Emergency Medical Services attended to him. Chustz said the baby did not even cry during the rescue operation.
Missing baby boy found alive in Louisiana field https://t.co/RaSgTz7hHx
— Toronto Sun (@TheTorontoSun) March 18, 2022
Chustz added that the timing of the rescue did not give a lot of them hope, but the baby was tough. The search and rescue operation was carried out by multiple agencies starting on Wednesday morning after the child's mother turned herself in to get medical treatment.
According to Baton Rouge Fire Department (BRFD) spokesman Curt Monte, Jackson's mother showed up at Harding Road fire station around 6 p.m. on Tuesday and was later brought to the hospital. WAFB reported that while she was being transported to a different facility for treatment the next morning, the mother mentioned the abandoned child, alerting officials.
BRFD contacted the woman's family members, who said they saw her with the baby when she left her apartment by Cypress Road and Harding Boulevard for the fire station on Tuesday evening. Officials immediately launched a massive search for the child upon learning that no one in the family knew where to find the baby. The search team involved police officers, firefighters from multiple cities, a helicopter, and at least one police dog.
Baby found near Saintsville Church on Plank Road
According to Monte, search crews scoured the woods between Plank and Hooper roads to find the baby. They also looked as far west as the BRFD headquarters, about a mile away from the woman's apartment.
The baby was eventually located near Saintsville Church on Plank Road after the child's mother helped Baton Rouge police officers narrow down the location where she abandoned Jackson. Monte said officers eventually spotted the child from a BRPD helicopter.
BRPD spokesman Lt. Don Coppola issued a statement about the woman who abandoned the baby, saying she will not face charges over the incident, which was prompted by medical issues. People magazine reported that East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome also released a public statement about the successful search, thanking first responders for finding the baby safe.
