Mother Of Child Missing With AWOL Soldier Voices Concern

DENVER (CBS4) - The search has been on for a soldier who went AWOL from Fort Carson and then disappeared with his baby daughter.

Derik Hembree and his one-month-old daughter Brooke haven't been seen since Aug. 4. The baby's mother, Nicole Brewer, says it never should have happened. She's worried her infant is in serious danger.

Hembree was denied a restraining order against Brewer. Police are now searching for both Hembree and the baby.

Brewer was only with her baby for just one month before she was taken. Brewer says Brooke was supposed to be in custody with the Department of Human Services, but the child was placed in Hembree's home. Hembree is Brewer's former fiancé.

"I'm afraid that he will do something to himself or the baby in the mind frame thinking, "If I can't have her, nobody can,'" Brewer said.

The military has confirmed Hembree has been AWOL from the Army since May. Brewer believes he might have post traumatic stress disorder and claims a case worker didn't listen to her concerns.

"She knew all the logistics. She knew he was abusive. She knew everything and she still placed the baby in his care," Brewer said.

The couple had a rocky past. In July court documents show Hembree tried to get a restraining order against Brewer, allegedly to get full custody of their daughter. With Hembree and Brooke currently missing, Brewer is worried she might never get her baby back.

"I'm scared, but in another sense I'm extremely angry at the government system for placing my child in danger when all of this could have been avoided," Brewer said.

Police have limited information about where either might be or what type of vehicle Hembree could be driving.