Baby update: Ohio man charged with taking son from guardian
Brandon Blouin, the 26-year-old Ohio man accused of leaving his baby, Bradley, 1, into the woods south of Bend, is also being charged with unlawfully taking Bradley from his grandmother in West Virginia, who is his legal guardian, as determined by a West Virginia court.
The man who finally found Bradley after an intensive six-hour search late last week talked Tuesday about how it felt when the frantic effort came to a close as he finally spotted him.
“I looked to my left and was able to see baby Bradley laying in the dirt, face-down with his knees pulled up under his chest and his arms pulled under his chest as well, face-down in the dirt,” Deschutes County sheriff’s Detective Doug Jackson said. “It’s something that you’re never prepared for.”
Sheriff Shane Nelson added, “For a public safety agency, there is no more important call than the one with 1-year-old Bradley, and it is absolutely wonderful that we found him. It was a huge team effort.”
Search and Rescue Coordinator Bryan Husband said, “When that call comes in from Detective Jackson, saying they’ve located the child, and he is alive and in good condition, it’s a high-five moment for everybody. It’s a sigh of relief.”
Donations are continuing to pour in for Bradley, including a blanket embroidered with his name. The sheriff’s office said at this point, they might actually have too many donations for the 1-year-old.
Blouin is due in court for arraignment May 21 and is currently held without bail on an out-of-county warrant. His local charges include two counts of third-degree assault and first-degree criminal mistreatment, as well as first-degree custodial interference, second-degree child neglect, endangering the welfare of a minor and abandonment of a child, jail records showed.
