Daily Mail Uk reports that; A newborn who vanished from a southern Wisconsin home was found alive in a tote bag this morning at a gas station in eastern Iowa.
Town of Beloit Police Chief Steven Kopp says the nearly week-old Kayden Powell was discovered by the police chief of West Branch, Iowa, checking along Interstate 80 at around 10.15am Friday.
FBI acting special agent G.B. Jones said at a news conference the chief heard the infant crying and discovered the child swaddled in blankets and placed in a tote bag outside a gas station.
Scroll down for video and other pictures...
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Safe and sound: Six-day-old Kayden Powell is pictured here Friday after he was found alive in West Branch, Iowa, swaddled in blankets and placed inside a tote bag against the cold
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Missing: Kayden Powell, now six days old, disappeared from his bassinet in the early hours of Thursday at a home in Beloit, Wisconsin
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Birth: Brianna Marshall, 18, gave birth Kayden at Beloit Hospital while his father, Bruce Powell, 23, was present
Authorities say baby Kayden appears to be in 'excellent health' despite the frigid temperatures.
'Our efforts are clearly focused on reuniting mother and child and the rest of the family members with the child. That's the immediate focus. In fact we're taking steps right now to make sure that happens,' Jones said.
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Person of interest: Police in Iowa arrested Kristin Smith, who is believed to be a stepsister of the baby's mother, on unrelated fraud charges
Federal, state and local law enforcement officers had been looking for the baby since early Thursday when his mother, 18-year-old Brianna Marshall, discovered him missing from a bassinet in a Town of Beloit home.
Officers have arrested 'person of interest' Kristen Smith, who is believed to be a stepsister of Miss Marshall, several hours later in the neighboring state of Iowa. The woman is no longer considered as suspect in the case but is being held on separate fraud charges.
Authorities questioned a number of people, including Miss Powell, 18, Kayden's father Bruce Powell, 23, Miss Powell's brother and Kayden's great-grandmother - all of whom who were in the house when the baby was discovered missing early Thursday morning.
Miss Marshall and Mr Powell, were sleeping in the same room as their son when they discovered he was missing at about 4.30am.
Right place, right time: Authorities gather at a gas station in West Branch, Iowa, where a missing newborn was found alive Friday when the local police chief heard a baby crying
Search: Forty officers from law enforcement agencies have now joined in the search for missing Kayden
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| Parents: Miss Marshall, pictured with Mr Powell, discovered her newborn baby had vanished from their home in the Town of Beloit, Wisconsin, at 4.30am. The couple had been sleeping in the same room as their son, Kayden |
Miss Marshall then raised the alarm by calling 911, said Chief Kopp. Police said there were no signs of forced entry at the house.
A 'person of interest' - believed to be a stepsister of Miss Marshall - was arrested Thursday afternoon in Iowa on a warrant issued out of Texas, but police have since said she is not a suspect in the child's disappearance.
Kristin Smith was arrested in West Branch on fraud charges after a warrant was put out for her arrest in Texas.
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Arrest: 'Person of interest' Kristin Smith was arrested in West Branch, Iowa on separate fraud charges on Thursday. She is no longer considered a person of interest in the missing baby case
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| Scene: Baby Kayden was snatched from his crib at this Wisconsin home yesterday morning. Police say there were no signs of forced entry at the house, which is currently being processed as a crime scene |
She claims to be Miss Marshall's half-sister, with the women sharing the same father.
The women had reportedly discussed moving to Colorado, along with Mr Powell, after the baby was born.
Alert: Miss Marshall called 911 after awaking at 4.30am and finding her newborn son was missing
Chief Kopp confirmed that Smith left the home around 1.30am Thursday - before Miss Marshall reported that Kayden was missing.
Kopp said that Smith was visiting the home on Wednesday evening but left early on Thursday for Colorado where she lives.
Police were able to reach the woman on her cellphone and she pulled off the highway in Iowa.
Authorities took the woman into custody on an unrelated outstanding warrant from Texas.
West Branch, Iowa, is 170miles from Beloit - roughly a two-and-a-half-hour drive away.
The homeowner of the property where Kayden and his parents were staying is listed as 46-year-old Mark Bennett, who has a history of arrests for battery and criminal misdemeanors.
Chief Kopp says the incident is not believed to be a custody dispute - adding that an Amber Alert was not issued because the disappearance doesn't meet the criteria.
An Amber Alert is only issued if the child is at risk of serious injury or death and there is sufficient descriptive information of the child, captor or captor's vehicle.
Kayden was born at Beloit Memorial Hospital six days ago.
The Town of Beloit, home to about 7,700 people, is about 50 miles south of Madison near the Illinois border.
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