Missing Fla. Baby Found Alive Under Baby Sitter's Bed
Thursday, November 05, 2009
A 7-month-old Florida girl missing for five days was found alive in a box hidden under her baby sitter's bed late Wednesday and authorities say they'll charge the sitter, her husband and the infant's mother.
Baby sitter Susan Elizabeth Baker, 50, already is suspected along with her husband James in the 1987 disappearance of her 3-year-old stepson Paul, who was never found. The Bakers and baby Shannon Dedrick's mother Chrystina Lynn Mercer were detained and all will likely be charged in the incident.
Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock called an unusual 1 a.m. press conference Thursday and told reporters he had "good news." He then went to another room with television cameras rolling and came back holding Shannon in his arms. People applauded.
"We are the proud papas of a little girl," Haddock announced. "This is Shannon Lee Dedrick. We found her safe."
Investigators discovered Shannon at 9:55 p.m. Wednesday in a box tucked under a bed surrounded by items intended to hide the little girl at the Bakers' home near the rural Panhandle town of Chipley, the sheriff said.
The baby was placed in protective custody.
"Statistically speaking this should not have ever happened, that we found this child alive, especially after so many days. Time was against us," Haddock said.
Shannon was taken to a hospital but appeared healthy, according to Haddock.
More coverage at NewsHerald.com.
"It was very emotional for us, because once we got her to the hospital, we called our wives and every one of us was crying. Grown men crying. It's just such a relief," he said. "We've had missing children cases in the past, but nothing like this."
Haddock wouldn't provide details about the possible charges against Susan Baker, James Arthur Baker and Mercer or say how they believe the mother was involved.
More information will be released later Thursday, he said. Authorities don't believe the child's father, James Russell Dedrick Jr., — who is related to Susan Baker — was involved but the case is still under investigation.
He confirmed that Baker wrote an e-mail to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's office in August, pleading for the governor to help Shannon Dedrick.
"And my response is, 'We saved the child, Ms. Baker,'" Haddock said.
Court documents released Wednesday showed that child welfare workers in Florida began looking into allegations Shannon was being abused less than two weeks after she was born.
Her parents reported her missing around 11 a.m. Saturday. They told authorities that they had not seen her since about 3 a.m.
About 100 law enforcement agents and others scoured the woods around the couple's home, Haddock said. Investigators contacted the Bakers again on Wednesday and they allowed them into their home, according to the sheriff.
"They gave us consent to search the home and (we) found the baby in a box under a bed, with stuff pushed around the box to hide the baby," he said.
Investigators frequently went to the infant's home from August to late September and reported that both parents used marijuana and kept a messy home.
But investigators reported that Shannon seemed to be cared for and repeatedly noted that the risk to the baby was "intermediate."
In September, an investigator said a physician determined that the child was healthy and expressed "no concerns regarding the baby."
Court records show that Susan Baker was charged in South Carolina in the 1987 beating of Paul's 6-year-old sister. The charges included assault and battery with intent to kill and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.
Baker was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison, but it was reduced to only 80 days.
She was then extradited to South Carolina from Chipley in 2000, and charged in the disappearance of 3-year-old Paul Leonard Baker, who has been missing since March 1987.
Baker wasn't indicted by a grand jury in the case.
The child was never found, according to the Beaufort County, S.C., sheriff's office. Susan Baker claimed the toddler disappeared while she was sleeping, according to the News Herald.
Police reports don't indicate the child's possible relation, but the newspaper reported that Paul is James Baker's son and Susan Baker's stepson.
A sheriff's investigator from Beaufort County was sent to Florida to assist in the missing child case, spokeswoman Robin McIntosh said Wednesday.
Shannon's grandmother Kandis Boyer told the News Herald that she left her Texas home at 6 a.m. Tuesday with her two daughters and drove to Chipley.
“We’re taking this one step at a time,” Boyer told the paper. “The main focus is on Shannon. Thank God for bringing my granddaughter to safety.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571888,00.html
Chipley, Fla:
An Amber Alert is issued for a baby missing in Washington County.
Washington County Sheriff’s Officials tell News 13 that a 7-month old child, Shannon Lea Dedrick, has been missing from a home in Chipley since yesterday.
They say the child was reported missing at around 11:30 a.m. yesterday by the parents.
They are centering their search in the Brown Street area. Officials say search and rescue teams from Bay, Liberty, and Gulf Counties are assisting in the search.
They are also receiving assistance from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and the Graceville Police Department.
If you have any information… please call the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 638-6111.
http://www.panhandleparade.com/index.php/mbb/article/missing_child_in_chipley/