Photos
Thurston County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Rachel Bryan of Centralia on Wednesday, and she was jailed on suspicion of second- degree assault of a child. She will appear in Superior Court today for a probable cause hearing.
Medics took Bryan’s infant son from a home in Grand Mound to Providence Centralia Hospital on Tuesday with “acute head injuries,” sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin said.
Hospital staff members are required to notify authorities when they suspect a child’s injuries might be the result of abuse.
The boy subsequently was moved to Mary Bridge, where he remains on life support.
The sheriff’s office is investigating the case because the alleged abuse is believed to have occurred at the home of Bryan’s mother in Grand Mound, Elwin said.
Bryan has given a statement to detectives, but Elwin would not elaborate.
Five days before Bryan’s son was hospitalized, Bryan brought him to a nurse practitioner at a Lewis County medical clinic for treatment, said Sherry Hill, a spokeswoman for Children’s Administration, which oversees CPS.
During the Sept. 15 visit, the nurse practitioner was concerned about the mother's behavior, and a lump on the baby's back, Hill said. The nurse practitioner also was concerned about the way Bryan interacted with the baby, Hill added.
Bryan “just seemed like she didn’t have much patience” around the infant, Hill said of the nurse practitioner’s concerns.
A CPS social worker met with Bryan and the nurse practitioner at the clinic on Friday, Hill said. A physical exam showed no injuries, and the infant’s X-rays were negative, Hill said.
Bryan scheduled another visit for her son for one week later, Hill said.
The social worker talked to Bryan about services she could use to better take care of her son, because “it looked like her living status was up in the air,” Hill said.
Bryan had told the social worker she had recently moved to Thurston County from California, Hill added.
The social worker called Bryan’s relatives to find out more, Hill said. The social worker also called a physician’s consultant, and he said he wanted to follow up with the infant and schedule a full skeletal exam.
On Monday, Bryan called the social worker about signing up for parenting classes, Hill said. She also told the social worker she had started scheduling follow-up appointments for her son.
Tuesday morning, Bryan called the social worker to say her son had been taken to the hospital because he wasn’t breathing.
Hill said CPS is continuing its investigation.
Jeremy Pawloski: 360-754-5465
