Two young parents, 21-year-old Darien Tyler Urban and 20-year-old Shalene Ehlers residing in the state of Arkansas, were accused of attempting to sell their baby at a campsite in exchange for a 6-pack of beer and a thousand dollars. According to court records of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, criminal charges were filed against Darien Tyler Urban, 21, and Shalene Ehlers, 20, for endangering an underaged relative and attempting to waive parental rights for compensation. The Sheriff’s Office was alerted after the campsite owner became suspicious of the couple. Authorities found a two-month-old baby at the campsite and notified emergency services. The baby was taken to the hospital for examination, as the biological parents were nowhere to be found.

Witnesses reported that the baby had a foul smell and severe skin damage. The police obtained a signed “contract” from a potential buyer named Cody Martin. The contract stated: “I, Darien Urban and Shalene Ehlers, transfer our rights over our male child to Cody Nathaniel Martin for one thousand dollars on 09/21/2024. Warning: After signing, neither party will change their mind and there will be no further communication.” A witness sent authorities a video where Urban, Ehlers, and Martin are seen signing the contract.

“I WAS WORRIED FOR THE BABY’S WELL-BEING” In a sworn statement, Ricky Crawford, who was reportedly intoxicated and slurring his speech at the campsite, expressed to detectives that the sale happened out of concern for the baby’s well-being. Crawford asked the couple if he could take the child in exchange for a couple of boxes of beer, to which they left the baby in a bag with him. Crawford then went to Martin at the campsite and they signed a document offering the couple a thousand dollars for the baby. Martin claimed to law enforcement that he prepared the contract but had yet to exchange any money with the couple as he planned to bring the thousand dollars within a few days. The statement from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office included the belief that Urban and Ehlers, by leaving their minor child with someone heavily under the influence of alcohol or drugs and unknown to them, created a severe risk of death or physical injury. The couple was arrested and the bail was set at fifty thousand dollars. Law & Crime reported that, according to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office records, the child’s father was released while the mother remained in custody.