Miracle baby found by trucker on side of road survived two days alone in hurricane Beryl

The baby’s four-year-old brother was found dead and his mother was arrested

A truck passing along the highway where a one-year-old child was found on Tuesday, July 9, 2024

A one-year-old baby who survived two days of stormy weather was found crawling along the side of the road in America.

A Louisiana sheriff says the “miracle baby” was spotted by a truck driver crawling along a roadside the day after his four-year-old brother was found dead and his mother was arrested in Mississippi.

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

Autopsy reports were pending on the four-year-old who was found on Monday, Mr Guillory said during a news conference in Lake Charles, about 200 miles (322km) west of New Orleans.

The body had been found in a lake behind an Interstate 10 welcome center near the Texas state line.

Authorities investigating the four-year-old's death learned that he had last been seen Saturday with his mother, Aaliyah Jack, 25, of Lake Charles, and the one-year-old.

Aaliyah Jack, 25, who was arrested in Meridian, Mississippi, after her children were found some 350 miles away ... (Mississippi Law Enforcement)

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

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

Hurricane Beryl had struck east Texas early on Monday, and the search for the child played out amid bands of intermittent, heavy rain and high wind gusts.

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

Guillory said a one-year-old ‘miracle baby’ survived two days of sometimes stormy weather before a truck driver spotted him crawling along a roadside

Ms Jack was arrested on Monday night in Meridian, Mississippi, more than 350 miles (563km) from where her children were found. She was to be extradited to Louisiana, where she faced a charge of failure to report a missing child. A Louisiana judge had set bond at $300,000, Mr Guillory said.

Kayla Vincent, a spokeswoman for the sheriff, said no other charges were pending as of Wednesday afternoon and that the investigation was still continuing.

A woman navigates flood waters following heavy rain from Hurricane Beryl in Houston (EPA)

Online booking records were not available on Wednesday. It was unclear if Jack had an attorney who could comment on her behalf.

Beryl, which made landfall in Texas as a Category 1 hurricane on Monday after churning across the Caribbean and Mexico, has caused widespread flooding, power outages and damages to infrastructure.

At least seven people have died in the Houston region as a result of Hurricane Beryl, according to city and county officials. Earlier, 10 people died in the Caribbean.