5-Week-Old Found Dead, Hours After Couple Pleaded for Baby’s Safe Return

A missing 5-week-old baby was found dead in the woods, and his father was charged with murder in Alabama, hours after a couple pleaded for the infant’s safe return.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office announced that the father, 32-year-old Caleb Michael Whisnand, was charged with reckless manslaughter for the death of 5-week-old son Caleb “C.J.” Whisnand Jr.

The arrest came a few short hours after Whisnand and the infant’s mother, 28-year-old Angela Nicole Gardner, spoke at a press conference and pleaded for help in finding their son.

The couple reported the newborn missing Monday night from a gas station on Wetumpka Highway. During the press conference on Wednesday, the mother told reporters her baby disappeared while his father was paying for gas.

“It would mean everything to us. The family ain’t the same without family, that’s for sure,” Whisnand told reporters, before adding, “It’s been taking a toll on everybody.”

Authorities announced shortly after the press conference that C.J.’s body was found buried in a remote wooded area of Lowndes County, but his cause of death has not yet been released.

On Thursday, officials announced that prosecutors had upgraded the charges against Whisnand’s to capital murder after completing his son’s autopsy.