Clarke

MONTICELLO – A  Monticello man, who reported his seven-month-old daughter missing from Wal-Mart in the Town of Thompson over the weekend, has been charged with second degree attempted murder.

Cory Clarke, 27, was also charged with reckless endangerment in the first degree and falsely reporting an incident in the second degree.

After Clarke reported the baby missing, State Police from Sullivan, Orange and Ulster counties, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department and the Monticello Fire   Department conducted a massive search. The child was found 4½ hours later on Saturday abandoned in a wooded area off Lanahan Road, a short distance from the entrance to Wal-Mart, at the site of an old bungalow colony.

The child was unhurt, but was transported to Catskill Regional Medical Center in Harris for examination. She was treated and released.

Clarke was remanded to the Sullivan County Jail pending a future court appearance.