Authorities find possible remains of Farrey baby in Orogrande, N.M.; Father in custody in El Paso
Authorities are in Orogrande, N.M., have found what they believe are the possible remains of 5-month-old Jackson Farrey, the baby who was reported missing along with his family last week, a police spokesman said.
ABC-7 has confirmed that Jackson’s father, 22-year-old Jeffrey Farrey, an Army specialist at Fort Bliss, has been charged with injury to a child by omission. He was booked into the El Paso County Jail with bond set at $1,500,000.
The body of a child was found just after sunrise, but authorities would not say how the remains were found or how they were able to find the location. The body will be taken to the University of New Mexico Medical Examiner’s Office in Albuquerque to determine the cause of death and a positive identification.
Detectives with the El Paso Police Department, as well as officials with the FBI, Border Patrol, New Mexico State Police and Otero Sheriff’s Office assisted in the search, El Paso Police said.
Some of the investigators at the scene are the same ones who searched the Farrey home on Tuesday afternoon on the 7300 block of Cerro Negro in West El Paso.
The Farreys were reported missing Friday after Jeffrey Farrey failed to report for duty. His squad leader went to their home and found a suspicious letter, prompting him to call police.
El Paso police confirmed Monday that Farrey and wife Jenna, 20, were found about 2:30 a.m. Sunday at the Eagles Nest Motel in Escanaba, Mich.
Their 19-month-old son, Blake, is now in the custody of Child Protective Services in Michigan, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services in El Paso told ABC-7. The agency is currently working with law enforcement on the investigation.
Paul Zimmerman said CPS investigated allegations of neglectful supervision — leaving a young child at home — in June 2012 and continued working with the family through the agency’s Family Based Safety Services program until May 2013.
Jenna Farrey is currently awaiting an extradition trial to be sent back to El Paso. According to court documents obtained by ABC-7, an El Paso judge issued a warrant for her arrest Monday for violation of probation. Thedocuments state she was sentenced to five-year’s probation for child abandonment for leaving her then 3-month-old son Blake alone for eight hours last year while she went to Elephant Butte Lake.
Jeffrey Farrey is in custody on a military hold.
