Newborn Kayden Powell was discovered in a tote bag in a gas station in West Branch, Iowa after she went missing from her Wisconsin home.
Town of Beloit Police Chief Steven Kopp stated that the West Branch Police Chief, while searching along Interstate 80 early Friday morning, discovered the six-day-old crying baby swaddled in blankets in a tote bag.
Baby Kayden is in "excellent health" despite the frigid temperatures, according to authorities.
"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," said FBI acting special agent G.B. Jones at a press conference. Federal, state and local law enforcement began the search after early Thursday when the mother, 18-year-old Brianna Marshall, woke up to find an empty bassinet in her Beloit home.
Marshall and Kayden's father, 23-year-old Bruce Powell, were both sleeping in the same room as their baby girl when they realized at 4:30 a.m. that she was missing.
Marshall immediately notified police by calling 911, said Chief Kopp. Officials say there was no sign of forced entry.
"Person of interest" Kristen Smith, thought to be Marshall's stepsister, was arrested at West Branch, 170 miles away from Beloit, after a warrant was issued for her arrest in Texas. However, Chief Kopp confirmed that Smith left the home at 1:30 a.m. before the child's disappearance, and so she is no longer a suspect in the case.
Chief Kopp continued his report, saying that the incident is not believed to be an argument over custody and that an Amber Alert was not issued because it did not meet the criteria.
An Amber Alert is defined as a child being at risk of serious injury or death. To be issued, there needs to be sufficient description of the child, captor or captor's vehicle.
