A North Dakota woman who reportedly left her deceased baby in the woods admitted she took meth beforehand and apparently the father of the child helped her obtain the drug, court records indicate.

The Bismark Tribune reports that 25-year-old Justice Lange remains behind bars on child neglect and manslaughter charges after authorities found her 8-month-old son, Tyr, deceased and lying near a slough in a wooded area in Stutsman County on July 7. Earlier reports indicated that Lange was reported missing on July 2, but during a court hearing last week, a Stutsman County detective testified that she was first reported missing on June 28.

According to court documents from a Stutsman County probable cause hearing, Lange’s boyfriend, Jason Wilde, 38, admitted that he purchased intravenous meth at a carnival on June 28. Detective Jason Falk testified that Lange then “shot up right before she left with the baby.”

“The father (Wilde) of this child called and reported that his girlfriend, the mother of the child, had taken off in a vehicle that she didn’t own,” Falk said at the hearing. “He reported that she’s a meth addict and that she took off with the kid and felt that she was off using drugs and in hiding.”

A farmer reported that on June 28 that he saw someone driving a pickup truck through his yard close to the Foster County border. He tried to catch up to her but couldn’t reach her in time. Wilde admitted that during this time, he attempted himself to find Lange without luck.

On July 2, Wilde contacted police again and reportedly said he tried to follow two females in a pickup truck but couldn’t catch up to them. He also told authorities that his infant was with Lange and he was concerned for the baby’s safety.

Again, Wilde attempted to find Lange, but was driving on a suspended license with a passenger in the car. When police spotted Wilde, they attempted to pull him over but Wilde reportedly led them on a high-speed chase before exiting the vehicle and fleeing by foot.

On Monday, Wilde posted a Facebook video, explaining his version of how and why the high-speed chase happened.

 

Authorities apprehended Wilde and charged him with driving under suspension, reckless endangerment of the passenger inside the vehicle with him, and fleeing from an officer. Meanwhile, Lange and the baby remained missing.

On July 6, a farmer driving near Woodworth spotted Lange walking barefoot along a rural, gravel road, wearing nothing but “a tank top and bra,” as CrimeOnline previously reported. The man recognized Lange because he knew her family members. He picked her up and gave her a ride to her grandparents’ house. Lange told the driver that she’d been living in a slough for the past several days but she didn’t mention her baby.

Lange’s grandparents called 911 when she told them she couldn’t remember where Tyr was.

“She was covered in ticks, sunburnt, and was… didn’t have the baby with,” Falk said. “And when they asked her where the baby was, she told them in the water.”

“She told us that she remembers being in the Woodworth area and having vehicle trouble and that she was at a bar and got some help from a lady at the bar, but doesn’t remember anything else after that up until waking up out in a field missing her pants, underwear, shoes and everything. And her baby being out in the field.”

Police found the pickup truck abandoned on the same today, and according to Falk, the truck had gas and also baby formula, there was water, food, some food, things like that, baby items, in the vehicle.”

As authorities searched for the baby, they followed of trail of items tossed aside, including a diaper, bib, baby bottle, formula, water, and food. According to Falk, authorities discovered a field where it appeared “someone spent a lot of time.”

In nearby bushes, they found the lifeless body of the baby. Searchers found other items around the area, including, shoes, underwear, and pants.

Lange reportedly admitted to investigators that Tyr was dead when she left him. She said she tried CPR and splashed water on his face to revive him, yet nothing seemed to work. She said the baby died in her arms.

Upon further questioning, Lange reportedly told Falk that around July 1 or July 2, “the baby was not waking up.”

“She went into the water and was splashing water on the baby to revive him,” Falk said, indicated what Lange told him. “When she walked back up she didn’t have the baby anymore.”

Lange later changed her story, according to Falk, and said the baby died in her arms after splashing him water. She said she laid him next to reeds afterward, told him goodbye and walked away. Lange’s second version of events helped detectives locate the baby.

Tyr’s cause of death is still pending but Falk testified that the infant passed away from malnutrition.

Lange remains behind bars at the  Stutsman County Correctional Center on a $250,000 bond. She’s charged with child neglect and manslaughter. If convicted, she faces up to 15 years in prison.

[Feature Photo: Tyr Lange/Facebook]