Donations pour in after missing baby found, dad arrested

(Update: Donations pour in for found baby; donor comments)

A day after 1-year-old Bradley Thomas was rescued from the woods off China Hat Road, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office has received donations from nearly a dozen people. Toys, blankets, shoes, clothing and diapers have been dropped off at the sheriff’s office in Bend and the Redmond Police Department.

Sgt. William Bailey said Friday that authorities are grateful for the community support.

“I think this story has definitely caught the attention of Central Oregon and across the region,” Bailey said “We can all relate to a missing 1-year-old, particularly if you have children of your own.”

“A mom came in and dropped off these blankets, but her young daughter wanted to make sure Bradley got this puppet and book. So we will make sure he gets these items for her. That’s just a pretty cool story,” Bailey said.

Jessica Aman of Prineville stopped by the sheriff’s office Friday morning to drop off some toys for Bradley.

“It pulled on my heart stings a little bit, to see a child in need and know that my kids are blessed with lots of clothes and toys,” Aman said. They didn’t think twice about trying to share them with someone else, so we gathered them all up and brought them in.”

“I couldn’t imagine having that happen to one of my own kids, so whatever I could do to help is what I thought was a good idea,” Aman added.

Bradley is in St. Charles Bend and is now in state Department of Human Services custody. Authorities are in touch with his extended family but still need to continue the investigation.

An Ohio man living in an SUV south of Bend with his girlfriend and their 1-year-old son was arrested on several charges Thursday. Officials said he left the baby alone in the woods while he looked for the woman, prompting an extensive six-hour search that found the child in good condition.

Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched around 6:15 a.m. to the 21100 block of Sholes Road south of Bend after the man identified as Brandon M. Blouin, 25, of Belpre, Ohio, came out of the woods and showed up at the caller’s property, asking for police, Bailey said.

Deputies soon learned Blouin, an 18-year-old woman and their son, Bradley Michael Thomas, had been staying in a Ford Explorer in forestland north of China Hat Road, near milepost 3, Bailey said.

Blouin said the woman had walked away from the SUV alone at some point, leaving the baby in his care, the sergeant said. The man said he waited a while for her to return, then took the baby with him to look for her.

During his search for the woman, “he set Bradley down in the forest and left him,” Bailey said. When asked why, Bailey said, “We believe it has something to do with him being under the influence of methamphetamine.”

The sheriff’s office “activated numerous resources in a race against time” to find the boy, who was believed to be somewhere in the woods between China Hat Road and Tekampe and Sholes roads, Bailey said.

They included sheriff’s detectives and patrol deputies, searchers on the ground and on horseback and drones and helicopters with thermal image sensors.

A prescribed burn that was scheduled in the area was delayed and about 35 Forest Service crew members helped look for Bradley, along with sheriff’s deputies, five K-9 units, an AirLink helicopter and a drone.

Shortly after noon Thursday, Detective Doug Jackson found the boy — not crying, Bailey said, “just laying there naked in the dirt.”

The sheriff’s office posted a photo on Twitter of Jackson and the boy, wrapped in his jacket to stay warm.

He was quickly taken to nearby medics and an ambulance that took the child to the hospital for evaluation.

Blouin was arrested Thursday afternoon by sheriff’s detectives on charges of first-degree criminal mistreatment, second-degree child neglect, endangering the welfare of a minor and third-degree assault — the latter charge stemming from “an injury that we believe Bradley suffered while in Blouin’s care,” Bailey said in a news release.

Blouin was in police custody at the Bend hospital, the sergeant said, adding that the boy’s mother also has been admitted to the hospital.

Sheriff Shane Nelson said, “We have taken protective custody of Bradley at this time, we’re going to partner with the (state) Department of Human Services and turn Bradley over to them, and they will have him in their custody.”

“We are incredibly thankful for the outpouring of assistance we received from other public safety partners and the community during this incident,” Bailey wrote, listing the Deschutes and Crook counties’ Sheriff’s Search and Rescue units, Bend police and fire departments, AirLink, the Oregon National Guard, Deschutes National Forest fire crews, Deschutes County 911 “and the many private property owners in the area who assisted by searching their land.”

Thursday evening, the sheriff’s office noted that community members had been asking about donating items for the baby. They said in a Facebook post they can be dropped off at the sheriff’s office, 63333 Highway 20, across from JCPenney.

“New or lightly used essential items such as toys, clothes, blankets, etc will be collected at our office during business hours starting tomorrow morning,” the post said. “DCSO will coordinate getting all donated items to Bradley next week.”

Ohio news reports in October 2014 indicated Blouin was arrested after a police standoff after fleeing West Virginia law enforcement, facing assault charges for hitting a woman with a collapsible baton.