A Western Slope man was arrested Monday in connection with the death of a toddler.
Daniel Lee Ryan, 23, is suspected in the death of 14-month-old Hailey Rocha, Montrose police said.
“It’s very tragic for the community and the family,” said police Cmdr. Gene Lillard.
Ryan, the boyfriend of Hailey’s mother, was babysitting the girl Saturday while her mom worked at a restaurant in town, Lillard said. Ryan took the girl, who was in distress, to the restaurant seeking help, and a customer who is an emergency medical technician began performing CPR.
Hailey was taken to Montrose Memorial Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
An autopsy by the Montrose County coroner’s office found that she died of “direct result of multiple traumatic injuries” and ruled her death “homicide.”
“The cause of the death was blunt-force trauma,” the coroner’s office said.
Ryan was being held at the Montrose County jail on suspicion of homicide and child abuse resulting in death, police said.
