The suspected kidnapping of a North Carolina infant during a carjacking has led to the arrest of the child’s mother on a charge of attempted murder, authorities said Friday. Krista Madden, 35, of Asheville, N.C., was accused of trying to kill her 7-week-old baby Thursday by tossing the child over a bank in a child’s car seat, Henderson County Sheriff Lowell Griffin said during a news conference. It was only "by the grace of God” that the infant survived, the sheriff said. The baby, Shaylie Madden was found Thursday after a 75-foot plunge down a ravine, Griffin said. The baby and the car seat were found near each other. Shaylie was taken to the hospital. HOMELESS WOMAN FOUND BOUND, GAGGED IN CALIFORNIA FAKED KIDNAPPING, COPS SAY “It’s my understanding that she is in very good condition,” he said. Madden, a nurse according to her Facebook page, told police that she and the baby had been carjacked in Asheville Thursday afternoon. Nearly two hours later deputies found Madden 20 miles away in Henderson County near a church. They also found her abandoned car. Police said Madden told them she had managed to get away from the carjackers who took her baby. Authorities said she also told them that the carjackers were a man and a woman who wore ski masks. VEHICLE REPORTED STOLEN FOUND IN SEARCH FOR MALEAH DAVIS, MISSING HOUSTON GIRL: POLICE “We don’t believe that to be factual at all,” Griffin said. "We don’t have any reason to believe it is based on anything.” The sheriff said that two hours after finding Madden, Shaylie was found by a family. Courtney Fowler told Fox Carolina how she and her father found Shaylie after hearing a baby’s faint cries. "He backed the car up, and at that point, I had saw the car seat. The car seat was down over the bank," Fowler told the station. "I couldn't see the baby but I saw the car seat. He went down over the bank and got the car seat and the baby, and he brought it up the bank to me, then I held it and then my mom held it.” She said the baby had scrapes and bruises. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Madden was being held on $750,000 bond.<doc-sep>'By the grace of God' infant found alive after bogus kidnapping report by mother, sheriff says Hide Transcript Show Transcript WHO FOUND THE CHILD. SHE’S LIVE AT THE HENDERSON COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT, FOREST RENEE. WELL THE FOLKS I SPOKE TO SAY THEY’RE STILL WANDERING TONIGHT. WHY WOULD SOMEONE DO THIS TO A BABY KNOW AS THIS CASE CONTINUES I SPOKE WITH. THEY’RE JUST HAPPY THEY FOUND BABY SHAYLEE AND TIME. SEVEN-WEEK-OLD SCHEELE MAD AND FOUND ALIVE AFTER MISSING FOR FOUR HOURS IF THIS COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE THIS THIS BABY COULD HAVE BEEN SOMEWHERE WHERE NOBODY WOULD HAVE HEARD IT SCOTT FOUND HER DOWN THIS EMBANKMENT NEAR THE EDGE OF HIS DRIVEWAY ON SLICK ROCK ROAD AFTER HIS WIFE INSISTED. SHE HEARD A BABY CRYING GOT MY HAND UNDER HER HEAD IN MY STARTED TO PICK HER UP A LITTLE BIT AND I REALIZED SHE WAS KIND OF QUIET AND DOWN AND I PICKED HER OWN UP OUT OF THERE AND SHE QUITE AND WRITE DOWN THIS LOOKED AT ME IN THE QUIT CRYING THE BABY’S MOTHER 35 YEAR-OLD. CRYSTAL MAIDEN IS BEING CHARGED WITH FIRST DEGREE ATTEMPTED MURDER AFTER FIRST TELLING ASHEVILLE POLICE IN HENDERSON COUNTY DEPUTIES THAT SHE AND HER DAUGHTER HAD BEEN KIDNAPPED THURSDAY SCOTT AND HIS WIFE CHERYL ARE JUST THANKFUL. THEY FOUND A LITTLE SHAYLEE THAT NIGHT. I JUST WANT THAT LITTLE BABY DENY THAT THERE IS GOOD IN THIS WORLD RIGHT NOW. IT’S HARD TO SAY, BUT AT LEAST SHE’S ALIVE AND WELL AND THE GOOD HONESTLY LET EVERYTHING TO HAPP Advertisement 'By the grace of God' infant found alive after bogus kidnapping report by mother, sheriff says Woman hears faint cries of baby while checking mailbox, sheriff says Share Shares Copy Link Copy A woman who reported that she and her infant daughter were kidnapped Thursday has been charged with attempted murder after she lied about the whole thing, according to the Henderson County sheriff. (Archive video above is from Thursday night's report)Krista Madden, 35, was charged with first-degree attempted murder and is being held at the Henderson County Detention Center on $750,000 bond, according to police and the detention center website.During a morning news conference, Sheriff Lowell Griffin called the discovery of the baby miraculous. "It's by the grace of God that we're standing here with a child that's been discovered and is alive," he said.The baby, 7-week-old Shaylie Madden, is said to be in "very good condition," but he did not provide specifics on her condition.Baby found in woodsJust before 8 p.m., a woman called 911 to report that she and her husband found a baby that had been tossed over a bank off Slick Rock Road, Griffin said.Griffin said a woman had gone to her mailbox to check for mail and heard the faint cry of what she thought was a baby.She called her husband, who went down about a 75-foot embankment to find the infant who had rolled out of her car seat, Griffin said.The woman was recorded crying as she told a dispatcher that they found the baby “down in the woods.”She said the baby was bruised, her head was “banged up” and her leg was badly injured.“There’s no people down here,” she said. “We’re in a remote area. Somebody must have pulled up beside and tossed her like a piece of trash.”“It’s a little baby girl,” she said. “She’s so scared. She’s so scared.” Mother made up story, sheriff saysGriffin said Madden lied about the kidnapping. "At this point, we don't believe that (her story) to be factual at all -- none of that," he said.Asheville police said Madden reported that she and her 7-week-old infant, Shaylie, were kidnapped about 4:30 p.m along Dearborn Street in Biltmore Park.Police said Madden told them two people wearing ski masks were driving a silver 2014 Mazda CX5 with North Carolina tag, EMX-5984.She said Shaylie was wearing a pink onesie with horizontal white stripes, police said.Madden gave a vague description of the two suspects.Investigators were able to ping Madden's phone to be in the area of east Henderson County on Grant Mountain Road.As deputies were headed there they were notified that someone living in the area had found an abandoned car in the area at Barnwell Baptist Church, Griffin said. As deputies arrived, they encountered Madden, who told them she had escaped the kidnappers, Griffin said.Madden was taken to the Henderson County Sheriff's Office in Hendersonville to be evaluated and interviewed, Griffin said. "All indications lead us to believe that she was the one and she acted alone," Griffin said, referring to Madden.During a short bond hearing Friday, Madden waived her right for a court-appointed attorney. Her next court appearance was set for May 28.<doc-sep>
Authorities in western North Carolina say a mother tossed her baby down a 75-foot ravine and then concocted a story about a kidnapping. The baby was later found alive, and her claims unraveled. Krista Noelle Madden, 35, is now jailed on a count of attempted first-degree murder -- after residents heard a faint cry Thursday night and found 7-week-old Shaylie at the bottom of the ravine, said Henderson County Sheriff Lowell Griffin. Investigators believe Shaylie was in her car seat when she was tossed over the steep embankment, and then rolled out of it after hitting the ground. Griffin said the baby survived "simply, in my opinion, by the grace of a merciful God." She was admitted to the hospital but is believed to be in good condition, Griffin said. Police in Asheville said they received a 911 call on Thursday afternoon reporting a mother and her child had been kidnapped from Biltmore Park, a mixed-use area in Asheville. They wouldn't say who placed the call, but confirmed it wasn't Madden. Police pinged Madden's phone and traced it back to neighboring Henderson County. Krista Madden WSPA As Henderson County sheriff's deputies were called in around 5:30 p.m, investigators there received a call from a resident who had encountered Madden near a church on a rural road. Deputies responded and found Madden, and later her car abandoned a short distance away, Griffin said. Deputies transported Madden to the sheriff's station in an attempt to develop a suspect description, Griffin said. The woman told them she had escaped her alleged kidnappers, which Asheville police had initially described as a man and a woman with thin builds wearing ski masks. Authorities launched a search for the child, using canines to search the area near the abandoned car, but didn't find the girl, Griffin said. Then, just before 8 p.m., Henderson County investigators received another 911 call. A woman had gone out to check the mail when she heard what she thought was an infant's cry and called her husband over to assist. He climbed down the steep ravine near their home and found Shaylie, her car seat nearby. According to the 911 call obtained by TV station WYFF, the woman told a dispatcher the couple found a baby "down in the woods." "There's no people down here," the woman said. "We're in a remote area. Somebody must have pulled up beside and tossed her like a piece of trash." The woman said the girl's head was "banged up" and her leg injured. "It's a little baby girl," she said. "She's so scared. She's so scared." When asked about Madden's kidnapping claim, Griffin said, "at this point we don't believe that to be factual-- none of that." Griffin said he believes Madden tossed the girl over the ravine, and she was charged with attempted murder based on interviews and evidence at the scene. He said it's likely Madden acted alone. Madden appeared in court for a short bond hearing Friday and waived her right to a court-appointed attorney, according to WYFF. She was due back in court May 28.