On December 23, 2025, a tragic sequence of events unfolded in the Mimbres area near Silver City, New Mexico, claiming the life of Basil Daly, an 11-month-old male. The infant had been the subject of a desperate month-long search that began in Wyoming after he was reported missing by his father. Law enforcement officers from the Grant County Sheriff's Office and New Mexico State Police converged on a recreational vehicle where the child was located, acting on information that his non-custodial
mother had been spotted in the area. This discovery marked the violent conclusion to a flight from justice that spanned several states, triggered when a custody ruling was issued against the mother.
The situation escalated rapidly when authorities attempted to make contact with the mother, identified as 35-year-old Madeline Daly of Worland, Wyoming. She had fled her home state in November after the child’s father, Jake Stoner, was granted temporary emergency custody. For weeks, the pair's whereabouts remained unknown until a background check conducted for a potential job application in Silver City alerted local deputies to her presence. When officers approached the location to retrieve the child, Madeline attempted to evade them before barricading herself inside a recreational vehicle. As deputies coordinated with a tactical team to negotiate a peaceful resolution, a gunshot was heard from within the vehicle, prompting officers to breach the entry immediately.
Inside the vehicle, first responders discovered that Basil had sustained a fatal gunshot wound. Despite immediate lifesaving efforts, the child succumbed to his injuries at the scene. Madeline Daly was found with a firearm and was quickly subdued and disarmed by a detective before she could turn the weapon on herself. Following her detainment, she reportedly made disturbing statements to investigators, admitting that she acted to ensure the child’s father could not take custody of him. She allegedly expressed to law enforcement that she believed her actions were necessary to keep the boy from his father's family and noted that she had not been fast enough to take her own life following the shooting.
Madeline Daly was subsequently arrested and booked into the Grant County Detention Center. She faces severe criminal charges, including an open count of first-degree murder, which is a capital offense, and child abuse resulting in death. The case drew the attention of federal authorities and has been referred to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for further investigation. The child's father, who had been waiting for news in Nebraska, was notified of the devastating outcome by his attorney just days before the Christmas holiday.
