Family reunited with Baby Kayden Powell in Chicago
TOWN OF BELOIT (WITI) -- Loved ones of Kayden Powell say the family is working on getting closure after being reunited with the infant. The family is currently in Chicago and has not decided when to return to Beloit.
Meanwhile, doctors are calling it a miracle that Kayden survived.
"When they said they found him I got all happy and then I went to clapping and my daughter went to screaming," said Kayden's great-grandmother, Shirley Bennett.
The baby boy disappeared from his home early Thursday morning, February 6th. He was asleep in a bassinet. He was discovered Friday by a police officer at a gas station in West Branch, Iowa.
Baby Kayden was found inside a tote bag, wrapped in blankets.
Kayden's aunt, Kristen Smith, has been charged with federal kidnapping in the case.
"I knew she had took the baby. There was no doubt in my mind never about that," said Bennett.
Smith was arrested in Iowa on an unrelated warrant. Police found baby clothes and a prosthetic pregnancy belly in the woman's car. Smith had allegedly been telling people she was pregnant.
Authorities say Smith later admitted to abducting the infant.
"Despite frigid temperatures, Kayden was found alive and is doing very well. In the words of EMS officials, he's in excellent health," said Town of Beloit Police Chief Steve Kopp.
Doctors say they saw no signs of frostbite or hypothermia, despite the bitterly cold temperatures.
They say Kayden may have been helped by a thin layer of fat that newborns have.
Late Friday, Kayden's father returned to the home the baby was taken from, to gather some of the baby's belongings. Family members say Kayden and his parents remain out-of-state and are grateful for the way things turned out.
"It's closure. It's a whole lot of closure," said Mark Bennett, Kayden's great-uncle.
Kristen Smith faces life in prison if convicted.