A 5-month-old boy was rescued Sunday morning after being buried for nine hours in the western Montana woods where temperatures had dropped into the 40s, KTVB reported.
The child is in good condition at a hospital, according to the Missoula County Sheriff's Office, which added that it was "a miracle" the boy survived.
According to KTVB, authorities were alerted about a man acting strangely near Montana's Lolo National Forest, located about 35 miles from Missoula, Montana.
Witnesses said the man was threatening people and claiming to have a gun.
When deputies arrived, the suspect -- Francis Carlton Crowley, 32 -- had left, and that a 5-month-old baby in his care had not been seen for hours, KTVB reported.
Deputies apprehended Crowley, who said the baby was buried somewhere in the woods, according to The Associated Press.
After searching the area for more than six hours, a deputy "heard the faint cry of a baby," KTVB reported.
The child was found alive around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, buried face down under a pile of sticks and debris. He was wearing a wet and soiled onesie, the television station reported. Officials said the temperature had dropped as low as 46 degrees.
Crowley was arrested and booked into the Missoula County Detention Facility on a felony charge of criminal endangerment, KTVB reported. Additional charges are pending, according to the Sheriff's Office.
"For all of us at the sheriff's office, this is what we call a miracle," the Sheriff's Office posted on Facebook. "For the officers who were present for this event, it's especially hard knowing what this small baby endured in the last 24 hours."
Crowley is being held on $50,000 bail, according to the AP.
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