Dad Suspected of Abduction Arrested

By ROBERT GEHRKE

.c The Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A man suspected of abducting his malnourished 21-month- old son from a hospital more than two weeks ago was arrested Monday in a remote, mountainous portion of Montana.

Christopher Fink, 23, was taken into custody in Stillwater County in south- central Montana. His wife, Kyndra, his young son, David, and a newborn child also were in custody, the FBI said.

Cindy Lyle, spokeswoman for St. Vincent Hospital in Billings, Mont., said the Fink babies were to be airlifted to the hospital. Kyndra Fink was to be brought by ground ambulance.

Lyle had no information on their conditions.

The FBI has said the Finks believed David was "the Christ Child" and were feeding him only lettuce and watermelon in hopes of keeping him pure.

KSL-TV reported that hunters spotted the Fink's maroon 1986 Subaru on Sunday and notified authorities.

The Finks were located about 18 miles north of Nye, Mont., said Sweet Grass Undersheriff Tyler Molzahn. Nye is surrounded by Custer National Forest and is located about 72 miles west of Billings, Mont.

The FBI was to hold a press conference Monday night about the arrest, which came one day after Cheryl Gardner, Christopher Fink's mother, made an emotional plea to the parents to surrender to authorities.

"If you've ever trusted anyone in your life ... trust me," Gardner said Sunday. "We want you all to be brought in safely. It's too cold to have that baby out there. He's so hungry."

Temperatures in the area of Montana where Christopher Fink was arrested dipped below freezing on Sunday night.

A security camera at Primary Children's Medical Center showed Fink taking David on Sept. 19, five days after his wife's family admitted the severely malnourished child.

They were last seen Sept. 25 near Deer Creek Reservoir about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Mrs. Fink was in the couples' car in front of the hospital and drove off as her husband fled from a nurse and security guard. The nurse grabbed the door of the car and was dragged for about 35 feet, but not seriously injured.

David weighed 16 pounds, which is about the size of an average 6-month-old, and had been fed only watermelon and lettuce according to a diet his father believed would allow the boy to live forever.

In a rambling religious treatise posted on the Internet, Fink wrote of the dangers of eating meat and also predicted that adherence to his dietary beliefs would lead to conflict with authorities.

AP-NY-10-05-98 2147EDT

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