Authorities are looking for the son of Kirk D. Cross, accused of killing a foster child who was liv
ing at his home.
Cross, 31, has pleaded innocent to a charge of first-degree murder or in the alternative, homicide by abuse, in the death of 4-year-old Dirk D. Dalton. The trial is set for July 5.
Cross' wife an
d son are in the area, but no one seems to know where they are, said Kathie A. Spears, spokeswoman for the Department of Social and Health Services in Olympia.
Scott Broyles, a judge pro tem in Asotin County, issued an order Tuesday for Cross' 2-year-old son to be taken from his home.
Once the child is found, he will be placed in a licensed foster home, Spears said. Within 72 hours, a judge has to decide if the child should be placed in foster care on a more permanent basis.
The agency and the family are allowed to make presentations at the proceeding, Spears said.
Emergency medical technicians found Dalton lying on the floor of a bedroom May 1, with Cross administering CPR.
The boy wasn't breathing and had no pulse, according to emergency medica
l technicians. Preliminary autopsy reports show Dalton died of a ruptured small intestine, according to court documents.
His mother, Casey Dalton, placed her son in foster care about two weeks before his death because she was going into program at a drug and alcohol treatment center.
