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HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A man jumped off a bridge into the Connecticut River with his 7-month-old son, police said Monday as they ended a search for the baby and began a recovery operation.
Aaden Moreno was reported missing Sunday night when his father, 22-year-old Tony Moreno, jumped from the Arrigoni Bridge between Middletown and Portland. The search extended into Monday afternoon as police spoke with family members and visited homes where they believed Moreno may have taken the child.
Police said Moreno called a family member at about 11:45 p.m. Sunday, saying he would jump from the bridge. That person contacted police and said a baby could be heard in the background.
Lt. Heather Desmond, a Middletown police spokeswoman, said the person was a family member, but authorities don't know where he was when he called.
"It's why we can't narrow it down yet," she said.
Firefighters pulled Moreno from the water and took him to Hartford Hospital, where he was initially listed in serious condition. Desmond said he could not be questioned because of his condition.
Police later said he was upgraded to stable condition and that he was alert and conscious.
Charges are expected when the investigation is completed, police said.
Officers used police dogs, checking wooded areas as they spent hours Sunday night and Monday looking for Aaden.
"We're leaving no stone unturned," Middletown Mayor Daniel Drew had said a few hours before police confirmed the start of the recovery operation.
The Hartford Courant reported Monday night that the baby has been the focus of a child custody case between his parents, and the mother, Adrienne Oyola, had sought a restraining order against Moreno saying she feared for her safety and the baby's. A temporary restraining order had been in effect from June 17 to June 29, when it was denied by a judge, the newspaper reported, citing court records.
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This story has been corrected to show the last name of the man is Moreno, not Morano.
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