Forsyth Judge Saves Missing Baby From Nearby Pool

FORSYTH COUNTY, GA — The Forsyth Sheriff's Office says a local judge both found a missing two-year-old boy and saved him from potentially drowning, while the mother faces charges for child cruelty and reckless conduct.

After hearing a 2-year-old baby was missing Sunday, Judge Phillip Bettis knew of an unoccupied home near where he lived and went there on a hunch to help look for the child. When Bettis arrived he located the child floating in a swimming pool. Miraculously the child was floating on his back, being kept afloat by a diaper’s buoyancy. Bettis dove into the pool to rescue the child.

A Sheriff’s Lieutenant heard the noises and arrived during the rescue and witnessed Judge Bettis’s heroic actions. Medical assistance was immediately rendered to the child by local EMS and the child was found to be in good condition.

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On Sunday at 8:05 p.m., the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office received a Critical Missing Child call from a mother on Campground Road in southwest Forsyth County. When deputies arrived, they learned that the child left the residence thru an unlocked back door and had been gone for nearly a half an hour. The Sheriff’s Office issued a Swift911, or Reverse 911, call notifying all residents in the area. Sheriff’s Deputies accompanied by Forsyth County Fire immediately began searching the wooded area around the home for the child. Sheriff’s Office K9 units were also employed to search the area.

Deputies conducted a search of the home the child was living in and noted deplorable living conditions.
Based on their findings, they contacted the Department of Family and Children Services out of concern
for the children living there. Over 50 Sheriff’s Deputies and Fire Department officers participated in the
response.

Further investigation of the home and care of the two children, resulted in the removal of both children from the home. Both were placed into the custody of the Department of Family and Children’s Services. The mother of the children, Danielle Cherie Wright, was arrested and charged with cruelty to children 2nd degree and reckless conduct by the Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit. She is currently being held in the Forsyth County Jail with a $11,735 bond.

According to a statement from the Sheriff's Office, the majority of the time when calls like this are received, the child or person is found before or shortly after police arrive. This particular call was very concerning, but with the quick response and due diligence of the Sheriff’s Office, the Fire Department, dispatch and the citizens in the community a near certain tragedy was avoided.

Photo courtesy Forsyth County Sheriff's Office