When Ross Jessop, a Missoula County sheriff’s deputy, was sent into the mountains of Montana to find a missing infant he prepared himself for the worst.
It was in the early hours of the morning, freezing cold and officers had already been searching for the baby for over six hours.
Then a hunch leads Jessop and officers uphill to an area which had some debris and he was stopped in his tracks when he heard the whimpering of a child.
That’s when he discovered the baby, partially buried but alive.
The officers found the infant face down under a pile of sticks and debris, clothed only in a wet and soiled onesie, a statement from the sheriff’s office said. The baby was too tired to cry, according to Jessop.
Speaking to HLN’s Mike Galanos Jessop said, “I was so overcome with emotion that my cop instincts and my cop training … went away. I just wrapped that baby up just like a father would any child in need.
“I have three kids myself, and I think without a question that hearing that little baby the other night brought to me more joy than even my own children coming into this world,” he said.
The child has minor scrapes and bruises, but is in good condition, according to KPAX. The baby was placed in the custody of the Montana Child and Family Services Division.
“He settled in pretty good. He was coughing a little bit, he actually coughed up a few sticks out of his mouth,” Jessop said.
The sheriff’s office said it believes the baby had been there for at least nine hours.
The child had been in the care of Francis Carlton Crowley, 32, according to the sheriff’s office statement. Crowley has been charged with felony assault of a minor under 36 months and felony criminal endangerment, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Deputy Jessop and the officers around him refused to give up hope of finding this helpless infant and now he is safe and warm. Please share as a tribute to these hardworking law enforcers.
