First Responders Find 8-Month-Old Abandoned in Field Overnight: 'The Baby Was Tough'

By Amanda Thomason March 22, 2022 at 2:22pm

On Wednesday, a tense search was underway for Niguel Jackson, a missing 8-month-old child in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after he had spent the night alone outside.

The day before, the baby’s mother headed for the Harding Road Fire Station at around 6:00 p.m. When she arrived, she was taken to a hospital for medical treatment.

As she was being moved the next morning, she mentioned her young son, and first responders immediately began trying to figure out where the boy could be.

After contacting family members, they found out that the mother had taken her 8-month-old with her when she started for the fire department, but no one knew where he was or where he could be.

The mother was eventually able to identify a general area where he might be, and search crews including local police departments, fire departments, a police dog and a helicopter began looking for Niguel.

The situation didn’t look promising. The baby had been out by himself for hours, and during the night the temperature had dropped into the 50s, making rescuers concerned about the possibility of hypothermia.

It was the helicopter that first located the child, who was near Saintsville Church. In what EMS spokesperson Mike Chustz called a “miracle,” the boy was alive and unharmed — he didn’t even cry when they approached him and picked him up.

“The timing didn’t give us a lot of hope, but the baby was tough,” Chustz said, according to The Advocate.

“The medics jumped on him and started treating him right away and … I think he’s gonna be fine,” he continued in an interview with WAFB.

“You know, it’s still in a dangerous area but still think that it’s just a miracle basically to see the condition he was in. I did not expect that at all.”

Baton Rouge Police Department spokesman Lieutenant Don Coppola said the mother is not currently facing charges and that the incident seems to be a result of the medical issues she was experiencing.

“The infant was taken to a local hospital for precautionary medical treatment,” the Baton Rouge Police Department shared. “It’s believed that the mother suffered apparent medical issues. No charges are pending at this point in time. This investigation remains ongoing.”

East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome posted a public acknowledgment of those involved in the rescue efforts.

“Thank you to our emergency responders and community members whose quick coordination led to the recovery of the missing infant this morning in Baton Rouge,” she wrote.

“The Lord guided your efforts today. Should anyone be experiencing a mental health crisis, organizations like Capital Area Human Services are available to the public.”

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