While driving along Interstate 10 in Vinton just a few miles from the Louisiana-Texas border Tuesday morning, a trucker glanced over to the side of the road to make a shocking discovery.
A 1-year-old boy, the subject of a local Louisiana sheriff's office search, was crawling along the side of the freeway, headed toward the road.
The trucker stopped to call law enforcement, who arrived to find the child seemingly uninjured.
The boy's astonishing survival has been described as nothing short of a miracle by Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Gary "Stitch" Guillory.
"Thank God that trucker seen him," Guillory told reporters during a Tuesday evening press conference.
For two days, the baby wandered for miles on the side of the highway, braving heavy rain and high winds caused by the remnants of Hurricane Beryl, Guillory said.
Still, Guillory described the boy's condition upon his rescue as "very good." He said the toddler was suffering from plenty of bug bites, but was sitting up and drinking water in the ambulance after his rescue.
Children's Hospital pediatrician Dr. Anthony Hudson said at his age, the child would have likely only lasted one more day alone in the outdoors.
"General rule of thumb is about three days or so before things really start to shut down because of lack of water. So the baby may have had, at most, another day," Hudson said.
Without access to water in the Louisiana heat, the toddler was likely delirious by the time he was rescued, Hudson said.
By 18 months old, most children are able to walk some, though 1-year-olds are only able to maintain that level of exertion for about 30 minutes at a time, Hudson said.
That makes the distance the baby was able to travel a bigger feat.
As for how the toddler was able to avoid roaming into the road? Hudson called that pure luck.
At 12 to 18 months old, Hudson said children don't have the capacity to understand the dangers of the roadway. They can, however, comprehend feelings of abandonment, especially when the situation involves a parental figure. Hudson said it's likely the child understood that he was abandoned, potentially bringing on a flight or fight reaction.
'A tragic incident'
The 1-year-old boy was found a day after the body of his older brother, 4, was found in a nearby lake behind the Vinton Welcome Center. Authorities said both boys were last seen by family members on Saturday and had been traveling with their mother, 25-year-old Aaliyah N. Jack of Lake Charles.
Jack was arrested hundred of miles away in Meridian, Mississippi, on a charge of failure to report a missing child.
Jack's mother, Conswella Jack, said she had been caring for the boys along with their paternal grandmother for several months. After Conswella and Aliyah met in Lafayette on Saturday, Aaliyah fled with the boys, according to Conswella.
The case is still under investigation.
The surviving child was transported to a hospital after he was found on Tuesday and is in stable condition. He will placed in state custody once he's released, according to Conswella.
