ENCINO, N.M. — The body of a missing 15-month-old boy was found in a Torrance County field Wednesday, a day after his mother was found wandering naked in this New Mexico community.
Search-and-rescue crews found the body of Richy Willis-Brown near the junction of U.S. 60 and N.M. 3, according to state police Lt. Rick Anglada.
“It was just a bizarre case with such a tragic ending,” Anglada said.
The boy’s mother, whose name has not been released, remained in an Albuquerque hospital Wednesday. Authorities were considering filing charges against the woman.
Deputies said the boy and his mother had been seen along U.S. 60 before dawn Tuesday. The woman, wearing no clothes, showed up a few hours later in Encino and told authorities her baby was missing.
At one point, the woman told investigators she was driving through the area when she decided to stop, take off her clothes and star gaze. She said she fell asleep, and when she woke up, her son was gone.
Anglada said an autopsy will be done on the boy to determine the cause of death.
“Right now, we don’t know if the child died of exposure or any other trauma,” he said.
State police had put out an endangered persons advisory Tuesday, and Torrance County sheriff’s deputies, the National Guard and others began a massive search. After dark, searchers used night-vision and heat-detecting equipment to look for the boy.
