A 10-month-old baby who was at the center of an Idaho Amber Alert on Friday was found dead on Saturday morning, just two days after his mother was found slain in her home.
Zeke Best was found near his father’s vehicle, about 24 miles from Idaho Falls, after a group of hunters called police to report a man “in a sleeping bag on the side of the road,” the Bonneville County Sheriff said in a press release. The man in the sleeping bag was Zeke’s father, Jeremy Best, who was taken into police custody on suspicion of killing his wife before kidnapping the baby. Authorities are still working to determine a cause of death for baby Zeke.
The discovery marks a gut-wrenching end to a frantic search that kicked off late Thursday, when Teton County Sheriff’s deputies responding to an open-line 911 call found Jeremy Best’s wife, Kali Jean Randall, dead in the family’s home in Victor. Police immediately jumped into action to find 10-month-old Zeke, who’d allegedly been kidnapped by investigators’ prime suspect in the murder, Jeremy Best.
ADVERTISEMENT
Best had reportedly exhibited shocking behavior just hours before the murder, having been transported to a hospital for evaluation after he walked into a local store naked, according to The Idaho Statesman.
He was discharged that afternoon, just hours before deputies would find Randall slain. Best was described by police as “heavily armed and dangerous” while a manhunt for him was underway.
He was said to be “naked and making odd statements” when he was found early Saturday near the body of his son.
