John Jefferson
Inset left to right Darien Urban and Shalene Ehlers (Benton County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The campground where the couple allegedly tried to sell their child (Google Maps).
An Arkansas couple tried to sell their 2-month-old baby boy for a 6-pack of beer and money, Natural State law enforcement say.
Darien Urban, 21, and Shalene Ehlers, 20, stand accused of one count each of endangering the welfare of a minor and attempting to accept consideration for relinquishment of a minor, according to Benton County court records obtained by Law&Crime.
The attempted adoption for booze and cash was open knowledge among the participants — and several others, authorities allege.
On Sept. 21, a person used the phone in the manager’s office at the Beaver Lake Hide-A-Way Campground in Rogers to call the Benton County Sheriff’s Office and report that the parents “tried to give up the baby for a 6-pack of beer and then wanted $1,000 for the baby,” according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in the case.
Rogers, a large and rapidly growing city, lies just a few miles east of the Oklahoma border — some 200 miles northwest of Little Rock — and, when still a small town, was the first site of a Walmart store.
But the commerce afoot at the campground on the day in question was of a far more illicit nature, authorities say.
And, allegedly, there was a contract to prove it.
“I Darien Urban and Shalene Ehlers are signing our rights over to Cody Nathaniel Martin of our baby boy [redacted] for $1,000 on 09/21/2024.” the document reads. “Disclaimer: After signing this there will be no changing yall two’s minds and to never contact again.”
Multiple witnesses in attendance corroborated the pseudo-adoption process, according to a deputy cited in the affidavit. The deputy also allegedly obtained cellular phone video of Urban and Ehlers signing the contract with the man who would have bought their baby.
The impetus of the attempted sale was beer itself, authorities say.
Ehler allegedly approached another couple’s camper and asked them for beer, as she regularly does, according to the affidavit. When the couple declined, the mother left, but a man named Ricky Crawford offered beer in exchange for keeping the baby overnight.
Crawford, who investigators described as exceedingly intoxicated during his interview, allegedly said he was concerned about the baby’s welfare and wanted to get him out of Urban’s and Ehler’s hands overnight — which they agreed to, according to the affidavit.
“He asked if he could have the baby overnight and provided Urban and Ehlers with several cans of beer in exchange,” the affidavit reads. “Urban and Ehlers agreed and gave the baby along with a diaper bag to Crawford. He then brought the baby to Martin at another camper at the campground. Ehlers and Urban then came to the same camper and spoke to Martin and Crawford before signing the letter.”
Martin allegedly told law enforcement he was the person who drew up the contract, no money had yet to actually change hands, but he planned to bring the couple a $1,000 check on Sept. 23.
“Based on the totality of the investigation, it is believed both Urban and Ehler created a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury by abandoning their minor child initially with an obviously intoxicated male and ultimately with someone they did not know,” a detective wrote in the affidavit.
After being Mirandized, the couple were allegedly quite sanguine about the plan to sell their child, law enforcement says.
The affidavit reads:
They reported Crawford had come to the camper and requested to take the baby for the night. They stated they agreed and gave the baby to Crawford. They stated they then discussed it and went to the camper where the baby was and spoke to Martin. They stated they offered to surrender the baby to Martin in exchange for $1,000 in cash. They stated Martin created an agreement that they videotaped to ensure it was legal and they planned to “legalize” it on Monday. They both stated they then left on the understanding the baby was given to Martin in exchange for $1,000 to be collected on Monday.
Martin, for his part, said he spoke to the mother about her reason for the potential transaction, according to law enforcement.
“Martin stated she said it was not working having three dogs and a baby,” the affidavit reads.
The owner of the campground later caught wind of the transaction and called 911, according to the sheriff’s office. The baby boy, who allegedly showed signs of neglect, was taken to a hospital.
Both Urban and Ehlers were ordered held on $50,000 bail. The boy’s father appears to have since been released while his mother is still being detained, according to Benton County Sheriff’s Office records.
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