His brother was found dead, his mother was arrested before this baby was found crawling on a highway

KEVIN McGILL, Associated Press

10 minutes ago

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana sheriff says a 1-year-old “miracle baby” survived two days of intermittently stormy weather before being discovered by a truck driver crawling along the side of the road, a day after his 4-year-old brother was found dead and his mother was arrested in Mississippi.

Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Gary “Stitch” Guillory said the baby had been bitten by numerous insects but otherwise appeared to be in good condition.

Autopsy reports were still pending on the 4-year-old boy found Monday, Guillory said during a news conference Tuesday in Lake Charles, about 200 miles west of New Orleans. The body was found in a lake behind a welcome center on Interstate 10 near the Texas border.

Authorities investigating the 4-year-old’s death found he was last seen Saturday with his mother, Aaliyah Jack, 25, of Lake Charles, and the 1-year-old.

Fearing the one-year-old child was dead, authorities prepared to search the water where the dead child was found Tuesday morning. Then a truck driver called 911 after spotting the baby.

“We consider this one-year-old our miracle baby because he was still alive,” said a visibly moved Guillory.

Hurricane Beryl hit East Texas early Monday and the search for the child took place amid at times heavy rain and strong gusts of wind.

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

Jack was arrested Monday night in Meridian, Mississippi, more than 350 miles from where her children were found. She was to be extradited to Louisiana to face charges of failure to report a missing child. A Louisiana judge had set bail at $300,000, Guillory said.

Kayla Vincent, a sheriff’s spokeswoman, said no additional charges were pending as of Wednesday afternoon and the investigation was ongoing.

Online booking records were not available Wednesday. It was unclear whether Jack had a lawyer who could comment on her behalf.

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Associated Press reporter Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this report.