Portland man admits to leaving baby in Montana woods

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) – A Portland man has pleaded guilty to charges alleging he abandoned a 5-month-old baby under a pile of debris in the woods of western Montana.

The Missoulian reports 32-year-old Francis Carlton Crowley pleaded guilty Tuesday in Missoula District Court to criminal endangerment and child criminal endangerment.

He pleaded no contest to an assault on a child charge.

Prosecutors say Crowley was under the influence of meth and bath salts when he caused a disturbance in July at Lolo Hot Springs.

He told responding officers that the baby he had been caring for was buried, but he was unable to lead authorities to the boy.

Authorities found the baby, cold and hungry but otherwise in good condition, estimating he had been left alone for at least nine hours.

Court records showed Crowley told investigators he left the baby in the woods because it was very heavy. Officers learned he and the baby had been in a crash earlier in the day.

Crowley is scheduled to be sentenced on March 12.