Krista Noelle Madden, a North Carolina mother who claimed that she was kidnapped along with her 7-week-old infant, has been arrested for attempted murder after the baby, Shaylie, was found at the bottom of a local ravine.
The Daily Beast says that Madden reported that she and the baby were abducted by masked kidnappers. Henderson County Sheriff Lowell Griffin says that they have developed a theory of what really happened.
“We believe she was thrown over. When the child was discovered, the child was out of the car seat, however, the indications lead us to believe the child went over the bank in the car seat and after it hit the ground, subsequently, it rolled out of the car seat,” Griffin said.
The baby was found with just scrapes and bruises on Thursday night, hours after Madden reported that they had been kidnapped by a masked man and woman. Madden, 35, was arrested Friday morning and is currently being held in Henderson County on a $750,000 bond.
Madden claimed that she was able to get away from the kidnappers, but they took her daughter, dressed only in a pink onesie with white stripes. But four hours later, a woman getting her mail heard the baby’s cries at the bottom of a Henderson County ravine, 30 miles from where the kidnapping was reported.
Suspected kidnapping of 7-month-old girl was a hoax, mom arrested: Police: North Carolina mom Krista Noelle Madden was charged with attempted first-degree murder after her baby was found in a ravine. https://t.co/10D6h5jl0N #US pic.twitter.com/fAb7h7MVmz
— Patrick (@cahulaan) May 10, 2019
Sheriff Griffin says that it was lucky that the woman heard the infant crying.
“We had a female that goes to check her mailbox, and she really believes she hears the faint cries of an infant. She summons her husband who is a self-employed grating contractor. He arrives in the area and descends into about a 75-foot ravine to find the child along with a car seat over the bank.”
The police announced on Friday that they don’t believe Madden’s story, and are no longer looking for kidnappers because they believe the mother acted alone, and they decided to move ahead with attempted murder charges.
Madden is a registered nurse anesthetist at Mission Health, and has another daughter, Treya, 2.
The Boston Globe says that the Asheville police traced Madden’s cellphone to a mountain road near where the baby was found, and while they initially searched the area with dogs, the infant wasn’t found until the resident heard her cries.
The 911 recording had the voice of an unidentified woman who was out of breath saying she found a baby in a car seat, and the infant “looked so scared.”
The baby has scrapes and bruises, but otherwise is said to be in good condition.
