Police: "Indications" Missing Baby Alive

Police say there are signs a baby missing since just after Christmas -- whose mother claims to have given him to complete strangers in a Texas park -- and whose father says she claimed to have killed the infant -- is alive.

Eight-month-old Gabriel Johnson, at the center of a heated custody dispute, was last seen in San Antonio with his 23-year-old mother, Elizabeth Johnson, of Tempe, Ariz. Authorities say Johnson spent Dec. 22-27 at two motels there.

Johnson's white Oldsmobile was found at a San Antonio motel Tuesday. A baby seat and other items were inside, and there were no obvious signs of violence, said FBI spokesman Eric Vasys.

Gabriel's biological father, Logan McQueary, said during a Monday news conference in Tempe that he had received a text message from Johnson telling him she had killed their son. But McQueary said he had "a feeling" the boy was still alive.

Johnson was arrested last week in Miami Beach, Fla., on suspicion of custodial interference after she failed to show up for a custodial hearing in Phoenix.

CBS News Correspondent Randall Pinkston reports that Johnson says she gave Gabriel away to total strangers in a San Antonio park.

In a jailhouse interview, Johnson told a reporter she "trusted them," and believes "in my heart they are good people."

Police worry the mother's strange story may not add up, Pinkston notes. For one, when prodded, Johnson couldn't come up with the couple's name or address.

In the interview, she admitted she'd "made a hasty decision, and I thought it would be ... I thought it was OK."

Asked whether she was worried about whether her son is dead or alive, she responded, "No, I'm not."

As for the assertion she'd killed her baby, Johnson said she did it to get back at McQueary, who'd "ruined my life, and he had hurt me, and I wanted to hurt him, and that was the only thing I could say that would hurt him"

On "The Early Show" Thursday, Tempe police Sgt. Steven Carbajal told co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez, "We have some indications that Gabriel is still alive. ... We're optimistic Gabriel is alive, and we're doing everything wee can to return Gabriel safely to his father."

He stressed that Tempe courts have named McQueary as Gabriel's custodial father. Calling McQueary a "loving father," Carbajal added, "There's no doubt in my mind that Gabriel would be very well off with Logan and his family."

McQueary told Rodriguez, "I'm really sad. I want to find Gabriel. I want to get any help we could get out there. I'm hoping he's with some people who don't know anything about this and ... if they're worried about getting in trouble, just take him to a fire station, a hospital, anywhere."

He said he thinks Johnson is capable of hurting Gabriel, but doesn't think she did.

"I want to give Gabriel a good life, make him part of the family. (Johnson) never seemed like she really cared much about him."

Pinkston points out this may not be the first time Johnson has tried to give Gabriel away. Another couple says she offered Gabriel to them after they met at an airport.

"What's more," Pinkston says, "court documents show this was one nasty custody battle, with Johnson reportedly arrested for cutting up all of McQueary's clothes and destroying much of their furniture."