Mother faces attempted murder Charge in Asheville

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Authorities in North Carolina say the claim that a 7-week-old baby was kidnapped has unraveled and the mother has been charged with attempted murder after the infant was found at the bottom of a ravine.

Henderson County Sheriff Lowell Griffin announced Friday that 35-year-old Krista Noelle Madden is now jailed on a count of attempted first-degree murder.

She's being held on a $750,000 bond.

The sheriff said deputies encountered Madden on a nearby rural road Thursday evening, and she initially claimed she was able to escape from kidnappers who took her baby.

She gave an elaborate report to police of two people wearing ski masks abducting her and her daughter from an Asheville street in a Mazda CX5. She and the vehicle were found in Henderson County.

About 30 miles away, a woman checking her mail box on Thursday night heard faint cries of an infant and sent her husband climbing 75 feet down a ravine, where the baby was found with her car seat nearby.

Deputies say she called 911 after recovering the baby, and the baby is believed to be in good condition.

*Editor's Note: A criminal charge is an accusation, by law, a person accused of a crime is innocent until proven in a court of law.