DESCHUTES COUNTY, Oregon, May 15, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — Early on the morning of May 10, a man came walking out of the Oregon woods and asked a property owner to call law enforcement. His 1-year-old son was missing.
Deputies with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office were alerted and went out to the area on Sholes Road, south of Bend.
The deputies talked with Brandon M. Blouin, 25, and learned that Blouin, an 18-year-old woman, and their 1-year-old son had been staying in their vehicle in the forest land to the north of China Hat Road.
The baby’s name was Bradley Michael Thomas, and no one knew where he was.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said the young woman had “walked away from the vehicle at some point alone and left Bradley in the care and custody of Blouin.”
“Blouin waited for a period of time for her to return, but then took Bradley with him to look for the female,” the post continues.
Apparently, as Blouin searched for the woman, he set the baby down in the woods and left him there.
“Blouin is believed to have been under the influence of a controlled substance when he made the choice to set him down and walk away.”
The sheriff’s office, DCSO detectives and patrol personnel, and ground and horseback searchers began a “race against time to locate Bradley.”
Drones and helicopters with thermal sensors searched from above.
Shortly after noon, about six hours after deputies’ initial contact with Blouin, a detective found Bradley about a mile from the family’s vehicle.
The baby was naked and lying in the dirt. He was immediately put into the care of medical personnel at the scene.
Detectives arrested Brandon Blouin that afternoon and charged him with:
- Criminal mistreatment I
- Child neglect II
- Endangering the welfare of a minor
- Assault III
The sheriff’s office said, “The assault charge stems from an injury that we believe Bradley suffered while in Blouin’s care.”
Blouin, who is from Belpre, Ohio, was held in police custody at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend.
In the Facebook post, the sheriff’s office thanked the multitude of people who assisted in finding Bradley:
“Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue, Crook County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue, Bend Police Department, Bend Fire Department, AirLink, 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.”
