A trucker driving through Louisiana was able to spot a one-year-old 'miracle baby' crawling in a ditch as cops frantically searched for the infant following his brother's mysterious death.
The infant, whom his grandmother identified as Kingtrail, had to survive stormy weather as Hurricane Beryl inundated the area with heavy rain and high wind gusts on Monday - but was relatively unscathed when he was found Tuesday.
'We look at this one-year-old as our miracle baby because he was still alive,' Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Gary 'Stitch' Guillory said at a news conference, noting that the infant had numerous bug bites but otherwise appeared to be in good condition.
'This kid spent two days out in the weather on the side of a highway,' the sheriff continued.
'Thank God that trucker seen him.'
A one-year-old has been described as a 'miracle baby' after he apparently survived two days crawling on the side of an interstate
Guillory explained that authorities had found the infant's four-year-old brother in a lake behind a welcome center near the Texas state line on Monday.
Deputies then put out a BOLO for more information for the young child's family, and a family from Mississippi reached out - saying she was concerned it may have been her family member.
She also mentioned for the first time that the child had a one-year-old sibling, and that the two siblings were last seen with their mother, Aaliyah Jack, 25, on Saturday.
At that point, officials started to worry that the infant may also be dead, and were prepared on Tuesday morning to search the lake where Legend had been found.
But the deputies then received from an unidentified truck driver who said he spotted the baby crawling on the side of Interstate 10.
'There was a little boy sitting down in the embankment there,' the driver told KPLC.
'As I approached him, he smiled at me and then he started crying and walked toward me. Once he walked toward me, I grabbed his hand and he stopped crying at that point.'
When deputies arrived, they were able to positively the identify the infant as the missing one-year-old.
An unidentified truck driver spotted the infant crawling on the side of Interstate 10
He said the child was sitting in an embankment and started walking toward him
Authorities had feared the infant may have died, after his older brother was found dead in a lake nearby
The boys' grandmother, Conswella Jack, said she is now trying to piece together what may have happened.
'I was so blessed to hear the baby survived, but also so hurt because one is now gone,' she told The Arcadiana Advocate, describing Legend as 'so sweet and just lovable.'
Conswella explained that her daughter, Aaliyah, had legal custody of the two boys, but after she fell on hard times in April and fled to Baton Rouge, they had a mutual agreement that Conswella and the children's other grandmother would watch over them until she could get back on her feet.
'I remember asking her why she [was] in Baton Rouge, and all she said was she had nowhere else to go,' Conswella recounted.
'So Legend's grandmother went to get her kids from Baton Rouge and after that, we all met up. I took Kingtrail and Legend went with his [other] grandmother, and Aaliyah went her separate way.'
The boys' mother,Aaliyah Jack, 25, is facing a criminal charge of failure to report a missing child, but is fighting extradition back to Louisiana
They then met up on Saturday for Conswella's mother's funeral.
That is when, Conswella said, her daughter fled with the two boys.
'The next day, which was Sunday, after trying to call her, she finally reaches out to me, but it's a text,' the heartbroken grandmother said.
'She sent me a picture of a car in some bushes that kind of looked like it was wrecked. I was confused, so I called, called and called, and could not reach her.'
Police say there was no sign of foul play in Legend's death, but autopsy reports are pending.
Still, a warrant was issued for Aaliyah's arrest Monday night, charging her with failure to report a missing child.
She was taken into custody on Tuesday in Meridian, Mississippi - more than 350 miles from where her children were found.
The boys' grandmother, Conswella Jack, said she is trying to fight for custody of the infant
She was set to be extradited back to Louisiana, but Aaliyah is now fighting the extradition order, KPLC reports.
In order to have her face the criminal charge in Louisiana, Gov. Jeff Landry would now have to send a letter to Mississippi officials stating the need for her to return.
If she does get sent back to Louisiana, she would face a $300,000 bond.
In the meantime, Kingtrail has been released from a local hospital and is in state custody as his grandmother fights to take him home.
She described the situation as 'stressful,' noting: 'I don't even have the funds for it, so I have to do everything I can to get that baby back, because ain't nobody know him like we know him.'
